When Powers Collide
by CuteYami
Summary: In the aftermath of the Ceremonial Duel, the world fell apart. An evil yet to be sealed lingered, unlocking that which the Pharaoh had sealed. The world ended. Seto Kaiba is about to step back to stop it happening again. Undergoing complete rewrite, revival due soon.
1. Prologue

**When Powers Collide**

_In the aftermath of the Ceremonial Duel, the world fell apart. An evil yet to be sealed lingered, unlocking that which the Pharaoh had sealed. The world ended. And now Seto Kaiba is about to step back to stop it happening again. Rated for violence, war-themes, gore, language, character death._

* * *

**Prologue - Time**

Time. Time is something the world no longer has. Time is something the world has not had for the past sixteen years. Atem is gone. Yugi is gone. Everyone is gone. Few of us remain.

This country is stained with the blood of our fallen comrades, those who at one time, I would have turned away. We have been forced underground; beneath the crimson earth. The sunlight does not light the ground beneath the blood. For years, we could only reflect, without a way to fight back. That reflection… opened my eyes. Everything that I said while he - while they - was alive, I now regret.

Once the Pharaoh known to us by that time as "Atem" and Yugi Mutou faced in what was known as the Ceremonial Duel, it was as though the world outside that underground chamber had screeched to a halt; nothing else mattered outside of the cards they threw upon their Duel Disks, the monsters that battled. Two people, two souls, each had their own body, their own identity. After three years. And this had been their chance to learn which was stronger. Which was truly the King of Duel Monsters - the title they had shared over my head since our meeting. The result was a surprise, based on the past - their friends had been unable to decide who they wanted to win, who they wanted to suffer. By the time Atem's three Egyptian God beasts had been eliminated - all in the space of a turn - it had become clear to me who would survive the bout. Atem passed on and into the Afterlife that had been promised to him at the end of his millenniums-long path. His friends shed many tears; their hearts ached with his departure.

Little did they know they would join him in eternal peace within a number of years.

I, myself, have suffered through this war. KaibaCorp collapsed completely in the instant war broke out over Domino City, it's reputation had been difficult enough to keep after several incidents between the Battle City tournament that laid questions and answers ahead of Yugi and Atem and the journey they took into the past. Atem's past. That was not the end. My younger brother - the only shred of blood I had left that I could hold onto - Mokuba Kaiba had been captured at the time of Yugi Mutou's passing. He had been held hostage against us to prevent any assaults on the deadly force we faced, but without those that we could depend upon, we stood no chance anyway. What Mokuba is alive or not… is something that I no longer know. And it tears at my very soul. Each day is agony to live through, it's Hell on Earth.

Earth had descended into Hell.

Of the few survivors around me, I am only familiar with one: Maximillion Pegasus. The creator of Duel Monsters, our first true enemy; the man who sealed my brother's soul into a playing card and forced me to duel Yugi and choose between the two in need of rescuing. After the tournament, we had believed him to have passed on; apparently that hadn't been the case. Two others remained in our company; a soldier from a 'Xiaolin' temple who calls himself 'Omi' and a man from American. A man who speaks of large mecha and soldiers of different colours and ancient representations; of dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures - a man calling himself Tommy Oliver. Each have their own enemies to face in the war, each have their comrades buried beneath the bloodied gravel.

The world has become a wasteland - not even a shell - of its former self; no happiness, no light, no _life_. Everyday, we would hope for a sign, for a window of opportunity to pass through to peace. To avenge those we had lost. But we cannot even break through the first line of defence. It seems hopeless. Perhaps if Atem were still in this world, we may have stood more of a chance of surviving, of saving those we stood by.

That bastard Tomb Robber known as Bakura… his return had been predicted through means we couldn't comprehend; Atem's departure from the modern world was meant to have sealed the darkness in which he had been born and had been buried beneath. We could only come to the conclusion that another evil had stumbled upon the dark realm in which he had been imprisoned, lifting the meaning of Atem's eradication. The darkness had been reborn in the absence of light.

After everything that has passed in the sixteen years since the rebirth of darkness began, the cycle that repeated itself; there is nothing to horrify us anymore. Memories of dying comrades haunt us; Joey Wheeler - whom I had despised for many years - had been one of the victims towards the end of the conflict; shot down to die in a pool of his blood painting his skin, his clothes, his hair. He was sinking into death; unable to move, unable to live, unable to escape the inevitable.

Despite dying, he was desperate to get his message from his heart to his comrades who stayed by his side; words barely louder than a hoarse whisper, insisting that he had been driven by the death of his sister and his need to avenge her. Each fell at the hands of the man who had hidden within a friend of their. The man filled with nothing but evil, a being with no heart, no mercy. He gave none a chance to live.

Tremors had ripped the world's skin apart; many incidents that had occurred to bring about our demises; the tremors that tore open the earth beneath Tommy Oliver's comrade, dragging them to their ends in the mecha they used as a weapon. An army of evil that had overthrown everything we had defended; every meeting that had occurred in the past meant nothing compared in the face of these combined forces. Who said evil could never win?

Those words had been broken, the world we live in each and every day, expecting the end to come, is proof that such a claim is not possible. Perhaps we will be gone in days, in weeks; we can only hold out for a short while longer. Perhaps another force will appear in this dead world and destroy those that had brought harm to it.

That which was meant to remain sealed. The permanent seal that fell apart.

We stand alone in this post-apocalyptic world, facing the deadliest army this planet could have seen. I, Seto Kaiba, cannot see a ray of hope through the blanket of clouds that hang over us threateningly. I cannot see the path to protect what remains of this world in the hopes of rebuilding what we lost.

Surrender is imminent. The once 'Great' Seto Kaiba has lost hope. We have lost in this war, Death hangs his scythe over our heads constantly. How long can we last? We've passed our life expectancy here.

_- Seto Kaiba. Day XX, Month XX, Year 20XX_

* * *

**Next time**

_The final counterattack the world has to offer. One chance to set everything right. Survivors will lay their lives on the line in order to gain one more chance to save the planet they loved and lost. Chapter One - "Ceremonial Aftermath"._

* * *

_Kai guys. I know people have been looking at this for a while without any sign of an update. Truth is, I really wanted to get on with this, but I never did this story justice and the twelve chapters that had been written and not uploaded were lost when my desktop went down. But there's one duel in this tale that I've wanted to write since a friend and I played it out - so that's my main inspiration. That and those who have supported this - said friend was the creator of the plot (the idea for the three-way cross) and I had volunteered to become the words. Thank you very much for supporting this and I promise I'll make the wait worthwhile._

_- CuteYami, 2nd May 2009_


	2. The Ceremonial Aftermath

**Chapter 1-Ceremonial Aftermath  
**As Seto Kaiba turned away from the corner in which he had recapped what had happened over the past five years, he noticed the elder man known as Maximillion Pegasus watching him. Pegasus had been the only one who Kaiba had really known over the past 16 years. As much as Kaiba despised the cartoon obsessed man, in order to survive, they had to work together, besides, Pegasus had provided the shelter that had protected their team for years. But each day, they all feared for their lives, unsure as to whether they would live to see the next day. Pegasus stepped forward towards the previously rich and powerful CEO of his own company who was now living in a rut along with himself, for he too had owned a gaming company. Pegasus stared silently at the man before him, Kaiba's eyes narrowed angrily at the grey haired tall man behind him. Pegasus began the conversation.

"Come now Kaiba-boy. We've all been wondering where you went" he spoke in a strange voice.

"I'm not feeling very sociable" Kaiba sneered.

"Oh come now. Stop talking about the past to yourself!" Pegasus called. "It's not like you can make an award-winning novel out of it"

"Why don't you stop listening to me!" Kaiba snapped.

"Just come now, Omi and Tommy are waiting" Pegasus repeated.

"Fine" Kaiba sighed, frustrated at the current situation.

As the pair left the dark area they had been standing in, Kaiba shook his head. Pegasus had tried acting like a father-figure towards him, since his past had consisted of an abusive stepfather, the one he had referred to as Gozaburo. The pair walked silently and swiftly, making their way along the silent ghost town. The slanted, spiky and pitch-black buildings surrounded them, misshapen houses with no residents. But the pair were not alone for too long, for soon two other living beings appeared in their sights. It seemed ironic, Kaiba found himself seeing lifeless corpses laying on the cracked and crumbling ground below them. Kaiba looked down at the small yellow boy, usually compared to a cheese ball. This was the only remaining Xiaolin monk, Omi, whose friends; Kimiko, Raimundo and Clay had already fallen at the hands of Bakura shortly after Joey had been killed. There had been no end to the constant killing of the innocent and the resistance against the evil creatures that have claimed the planet as their own. They now only needed for Kaiba and what remained of the resistance to fall before the world rightfully belonged to them. Tommy turned to the distraught CEO who stood there, gazing down at Omi senselessly.

"Kaiba, are you alright?" Omi asked.

Kaiba gasped as he was brought back from his own shaken world. Omi, Tommy and Pegasus had been there for Kaiba since the kidnapping of Mokuba. But nothing they said could help him get over the devastation, his determination to rescue his brother was what fuelled his fighting spirit. That and the hope of restoring the world so that the others' deaths were not in vain. Kaiba believed that one day, the world would be what Yami had left.

"Kaiba-boy, we think we've come up with a plan that'll help us rescue Mokuba and the world!" Pegasus called.

"But we've said that at least twice each month for the past five years and every time we lose someone!" Kaiba cried. "That's how Yugi and the others were killed"

"But, we've only been attacking the evil head-on in its strongest form" Omi protested. "What about attacking it at its roots?" Kaiba looked down, confused at Omi's statement, Tommy kneeled beside the small warrior.

"Omi came up with an idea about using the Sands of Time" he explained.

"We'll travel back in time before your friend Yami disappeared and call on him to stop the evil back then before it grows to be like this. If we can destroy them before Yami leaves, then he can help us fight them " Tommy continued. "He stopped them before, he could stop them again".

Kaiba sighed and fell back into the crumbling world that was his mind, he could not understand. Why was it he could not defeat the darkness controlling the world like Yami would have? His senses drifted away again, Omi watched as Kaiba's eyes fixed themselves into one position. The monk was disturbed, along he had grown in 16 years, he still could not reach the height of the others. He stared up at Kaiba's empty blue eyes, his world had been shattered, his family taken away, his friends killed. Omi had also experienced the same suffering, all that remain of those he lived with was the small green dragon who helped to transport the resistance, Dojo. Omi sighed and placed his hand on Kaiba's shoulder, the tall, broken man turned to the yellow monk and stared at his black eyes. Omi's determination was strong, Kaiba felt as though it was trying to force itself past his doubt. Omi had always tried his hardest against the forces of darkness. Kaiba sighed, Omi spoke after the saddened sound faded.

"Kaiba, I promise. We will rescue your little brother and get the Sands of Time" Omi growled. "Our friends' deaths will not be in vain".

Kaiba's blue eyes met with Omi's black pupils, Pegasus and Tommy watched on as the two strongest emotions began battling; Omi's determination against Kaiba's worry and doubt. It was as if they were watching two children, having a staring competition. The fate of the world depended on what emotion would take over Kaiba in the next instance, Tommy prayed that Kaiba would understand why Omi was so sure. A blink. Lips parted. A voice broke the silence.

"How can we be so sure?" Kaiba asked. "We've been trying this for 5 years".

Tommy sighed in regret, Kaiba's doubt had still grasped his core. Pegasus turned as the secret warrior wallowed in despair at Kaiba's response.

"Because this time, we have a plan" Omi replied. "Your friends charged thinking they had a plan in order to avenge their fallen loved ones. But we don't think we have a plan. We know we have a plan"

Kaiba's silence took control again, the staring continued; Pegasus turned to Tommy as the Power Ranger turned back to the scene before the pair. Dojo appeared outside of the clearing, he slithered in silently. The silence lasted for seemed like an eternity.

_Yami stood before the doors of his future, destined to leave his friends. Tears flooded the eyes of Yugi Muto and Tea Gardner, Yami turned away as he prepared for the hardest move of his life.  
_

_"Like we always say, it's your move!" Yugi cried.  
_

_Yami's arm rose from his side, it froze at a right angle, his thumb appeared, he walked away. The shining light sparkling in the eyes of the others as they watched. Yami disappeared before their eyes, now walked Pharaoh Atem, who broke the barrier between the two worlds. The light began to consume him and he too disappeared into the light. As the stone doors closed, a low growl filled the room, Tea leapt forward, she still could not let him go, Joey grabbed her shoulder, she cried out as he did. All watched as the doors closed and the rumbling stopped.  
_

_"He's gone" Tea sobbed.  
_

_"Well Pharaoh. Goodbye" Yugi cried.  
_

Kaiba sighed, once those doors had closed, the end of the world began. The duel that had taken Yami away, maybe if Kaiba had been able to fight him, then he wouldn't have lost and would have been able to protect the world. Kaiba looked up at Omi, there was no choice, there was only one possible answer Kaiba could give in the memory of his friends' bravery and deaths along with Yami.

"Let's do it!" 


	3. Time After Time

**Chapter 2-Time after Time**  
Tommy sighed with relief, it had been so long since Kaiba had spoken so surely. He walked forward and placed his hand on Kaiba's shoulder a moment as Omi removed his.

"I promise Kaiba. We'll do everything we can to get the Sand of Time and stay alive" Tommy promised.

Kaiba nodded as the response, Tommy's hand fell from Kaiba's shoulder, the three turned to Pegasus, the long-haired American began to speak once again.

"In order to protect ourselves, Kaiba-boy and I will summon some Duel Monsters" Pegasus ordered. "Tommy, you'll have to transform into the Green Ranger and Omi, you ride Dojo and take any Shen-gong Wu you have".

"Indeed, now, let us go and kick some bad!" Omi cheered.

"It's, 'kick some butt'" Tommy corrected.

"That too" Omi chirped.

A bright light shone from the outside of Toon World, all that had been hiding in it now appeared. Kaiba and Pegasus activated their electronic Duel Disks, the device of their arm that held their decks. Kaiba drew three cards from his deck and placed them on three of the five slots that made his field. The giant white dragons appeared and roared, each with deep blue eyes like Kaiba's. Pegasus then placed his favourite monsters on the field.

"Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon. Toon Dark Magician Girl. Toon Gemini Elf. Relinquish" Pegasus listed as each appeared.

The first to appear, the dragon, was simply a cartoon version of Kaiba's three Blue-Eyed dragons. Meanwhile, the Toon Dark Magician Girl was a small girl who wore blue and pink and held a small sceptre. Her boots were large with blue, along with narrow pink strips, as was her hat. The Toon Gemini Elf were two twins. One with brunette hair and a dark purple dress, the other blonde hair and a bright blue dress, both had small colourful marks on their faces and consisted of cartoon-like appearance. The final one, Relinquish, was a large disgusting monster, its head was merely the Millennium Symbol on a round ball of flesh which was link to the body by a long neck, wrapped with metal. The rest of its body was two large white wings that hide the vortex in its stomach, two large arms and an almost spinning top-like bottom. Tommy turned from the creatures and held his small morpher, he held it in front and held his right arm with his left.

"Dragon Zord!" he called.

His body was then consumed in green light and when it disappeared, Tommy's outfit had been transformed entirely green, his shoulder was padded with golden armour along with a diamond of the material over his chest. His helmet was also green along with a silver area around where his mouth was hidden. His eyes were blanketed in black, surrounded by a small dragon teeth design around the edge. Omi turned to Dojo, the small dragon then grew large in size, he became as large as Toon World. The yellow monk hopped onto Dojo's back and glared forward where lightning struck.

"Ready?" Omi called.

"Yeah we're ready" Kaiba replied, atop one of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons.

"Then let's go!" Pegasus called, atop another.

Dojo raced forward, the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons roared before shooting off after it. Alongside Kaiba, sat the small Toon Dark Magician Girl, she held onto Kaiba's leg as the wind roughly blew about. Pegasus sat with Relinquish while Tommy was joined by the Toon Gemini Elves on top of the final dragon. The small Blue-Eyes Toon dragon hovered quickly just above the ground. It glanced down at the brown grass that was the dirt itself below it, the three dragons raced alongside Dojo. Kaiba glared ahead, he could still hear the voices and feel the tensions.

_Yugi panted as he raced back within the safety of the KaibaCorp building, Joey ran forward, another had been with Yugi earlier on.  
_

_"Yuge, where's Serenity?" Joey asked.  
_

_"Joey...I-I'm..." Yugi choked. "She...I'm so sorry, Joey".  
_

_Joey wide eyes filled with tears, he sank to his knees, he was now equal in height to Yugi. He stared into the large violet eyes before him, filled with horror and sorrow. Silent tears spoke Joey's every word as they poured down his face. It had been a year since Bakura had returned, many innocent had fallen at his hands. Joey fell forward and sobbed Yugi placed his hand on Joey's back as the broken friend laid in front of him, tears raced down his own face, Tea watched from the edge of the large empty room, her face, too, wet.  
_

_"Serenity!" Joey wailed.  
_

_Tristan entered with the younger Wheeler's body, Joey was mentally broken, the question remained as to what to do with it. But as time ran on, Joey's sorrow turned into anger. One day, he stood in his room, alone, staring out the window at the breaking world before him. A knock on the door woke him up. He turned and called out for the entrance of the person, a younger boy entered, messy brunette hair rested upon his head and mud-coloured eyes focused on Joey. It was the youngest of the resistance; Jaden Yuki.  
_

_"Joey, what do you say, we go after Bakura right now?" Jaden suggested,  
_

_"I dunno" Joey sighed. "Yuge was with Serenity, even then, she was killed. What makes you think we won't be?"  
_

_"Because we have Duel Monsters to protect us" Jaden replied.  
_

_"Fine, but if anything happens, it was you plan" Joey mumbled in a deep tone.  
_

_The two left the room silently without another soul in the building knowing of their attempt to avenge Serenity. Within a couple of hours; Kaiba, Yugi, Tommy, Tea, Vicky, Omi and Raimundo had realized what Joey and Jaden had done and raced off after them. But it was too late, as they arrived at the scene of the battle they found Joey alone, Jaden had been killed. Joey was battle one of the stronger opponents, Yami Marik, who had been brought back from the Shadow Realm when Bakura had begun his attempt to combine the two worlds. Joey turned to the other and smiled, Yugi gasped as Yami Marik leapt forward, wielding a large sword.  
_

_"Joey! Look out!" Yugi screamed.  
_

_Joey turned back, his eyes wide in surprise, but his body couldn't respond to the screams his brain gave it as the sword penetrated the flesh in his chest, he screamed as it stabbed deeply within him. Tea, Vicky and Yugi screamed in horror as they friend was cut into with the weapon. Yami Marik laughed as the blonde fighter fell, he ran back towards the spiky black building in the distance, Yugi, Tea and Kaiba ran forward. They dropped at Joey's side, blood was spreading quickly, it was clear that Marik had hit something vital, perhaps Joey's heart. The blonde looked up sorrowfully, yet pleased. He happily cried his final words to the three of us.  
_

_"I'm sorry Yuge, Vicky, Tea, Kaiba. I tried for Serenity" he gasped.  
_

_Then his eyes closed and he laid still, Yugi cried while Tea held her hand to her mouth as she gasped and then cried, there was nothing strong enough to hold back the trio's tears.  
_

_"Joey! JOEY! Come on! Wake up, please!" Yugi begged.  
_

_"Joey, no!" Tea gasped. "Joey, not you too"  
_

_"You can't die on us Joey!" Vicky cried.  
_

_Kaiba sighed, although he had not liked Wheeler almost as much as he had hated Yami, he had never wished that anyone would die. He turned to Yugi and Tea, they looked at him as his voice broke into their senses.  
_

_"You three get back to the others and make your way to the KaibaCorp building" he ordered.  
_

_"But what about Joey?" Yugi asked. "We can't just leave him here"  
_

_"Who knows what they'll do to his body if we leave him behind?" Vicky sobbed.  
_

_"I'll bring Wheeler back" Kaiba replied. "I'm guessing that Jaden's body was destroyed. We'll take him back and bury him by his sister".  
_

_Yugi, Vicky and Tea rushed from the scene, they could remember when the lifeless body of Serenity appeared in KaibaCorp in Joey's arms. They had promised that if someone was killed, they would be brought back to KaibaCorp where they would be buried safely before their body blown up as Jaden's had.  
_

Kaiba woke up in reality, there was not much left to fight for; only the memory of those that had left as well as what remained of the battlefield which was the planet Earth. As the dragons raced forward; Kaiba glared at Mokuba's prison. The white dragons began to open their mouth, white light consuming the inside. Kaiba's narrowed eyes continued to focus themselves on the upcoming target, despite the rushing winds.

"White Lightning attack!" he commanded.

As the lightning blasts were fired; the others watched in awe. The three beams of light combined and headed straight for the castle of darkness ahead. The light slammed into the blackness of the building, everybody stared on wide-eyed. A brown crack emerged, the wall began to collapse, the three dragons roared in victory. As the dragons slowed, they descended upon the broken and dry ground. Kaiba's boots clicked harshly against it, Tommy immediately followed. Omi and Pegasus then landed upon the ground and glared into the darkness. Kaiba turned back; as Yugi had once, he led the group of fighters into the battle. The corridors were dark and cold, pretty much like the minds of the murderers that dwelled within them. Kaiba's eyes narrowed as he focused on the darkness ahead. A creature. A person? An enemy? He had no idea. He could have been racing to his death.


	4. Final Attempt

**Chapter 3-Final Attempt  
**As the dark surroundings clouded Kaiba's vision, those behind began to wonder what would happen in the upcoming bout. Omi looked his left hand, in it was the Orb of Tornami. Omi had relied on the Orb in many different situations for many different reasons. He believed in it and trusted that it would come through one more time. He held the small familiar object tightly in his hands, the monk leapt up and held it high. A faint glow began to penetrate the darkness around him.

"Orb of Tornami! Ice!" he called.

As the water would flow, its own solid form shot down and encased the creature in a large block of ice. Kaiba grinned as he raced past the trapped shadow, Omi immediately followed and Pegasus raced after him. Tommy leapt up and jumped down to earth, shattering the ice sculpture. The group stopped upon entering a room, the Sands of Time sat at the far end, a dim light shining upon the ray of hope that remained. Omi turned to Kaiba, the two stepped forward, the light faded. Tommy crouched down, ready to pounce like a large jungle cat. Anger striking his heart, Pegasus held two cards nervously in his hand. A thud was heard, the light returned. Now where the Sands of Time sat, Bakura now stood, with the Ancient artefact sitting behind him. Next to him were Wuya and Marik, enemies of Omi and Kaiba. Omi snarled at the sight of his lifelong archrival. She had caused so much trouble alongside Chase Young and Jack Spicer, but for now, the other villains were nowhere to be found.

"And to think" Bakura hissed wickedly. "The one day that the others go out to search for you, you come to us".

Bakura licked his top lip, as if satisfied with a meal, Kaiba shuddered at the action. Bakura seemed to become more disturbing with each fight, his power was growing too.

"And all I needed was to wait 11 years after Yugi sent Yami away" he sniggered.

The two had been so close. But Yami's spirit was said to need to move on, so Yugi duelled him, then regretfully won. Ever since that duel, Yami had been a fading wondering memory, almost fading from the minds of those participating in the continuous struggle for the world. Kaiba growled, as if an angered dog, Yami was the greatest rival he had ever had, and for Bakura to speak of the King of Games in such a way was a disgrace. He was brought back from his thoughts as a voice spoke beside him. He turned and broke his focus on Bakura to watch as Tommy continued his plan.

"Pegasus and I will hold those creeps back, Omi and Kaiba, you have to get the Sands of Time" Tommy ordered.

"But what about you?" Omi gasped.

"If you guys can get to the past, it won't matter if we die" Tommy snapped.

"But-!" Omi cried.

"You have to!" Tommy barked.

"He's right. If you can stop the Pharaoh from duelling Yugi, you can save him" Pegasus added. "Then he can save the world".

Omi stepped back, as easy as it all sounded, time travel or not, Omi was still fearful of losing his comrades. He had already lost his closest friends and those that he had bonded with along the rough road that had led to this last attempt.

"He's right" Kaiba sighed. "We've got to do it. For Yugi and Joey. Tea and Serenity. Vicky and Destiny. Kimiko and Raimundo. Tristan and Clay.

Omi watched Kaiba's face with large tearful black eyes, so much had been experienced over the last number of years, he wasn't sure how much more he could take. He gazed, the blackness of his saddened eyes into the depths of Kaiba's disturbed blue eyes. Omi nodded as a response, he prepared himself for the attack, Kaiba, too, ready for physical action. Tommy and Pegasus backed up, their backs pressing against the other. As Marik held his Millennium Rod high, Wuya did so with her arms. Stone creatures appeared behind the trio of demons that had destroyed the world. The sight of the three of them, so smug, grinning with their army of stone servants, it was enough to make Kaiba sick.

"Ready, Pegasus?" Tommy asked.

The elder man placed his two cards back onto his Duel Disk, the cartoon magician girl and white dragon reappeared in the dull battlefield.

"If you think we're stupid enough to let you get to the Sands of Time, you're more stupid than we thought, Kaiba!" Bakura hissed.

Kaiba's eyes rose and met with those of Bakura's, the blue sufferers narrowed in anger, in disgust. Bakura grinned at Kaiba's annoyance, it was a sight that if it were a meal, Bakura would feast upon it, as his eyes did Kaiba's expression. As the two sides braced themselves, grinding their feet on the ground, Toon Dark Magician Girl growled, her small staff beginning to glow. Bakura grinned again before leaping forward, yelling out as he did so. Marik and Wuya followed as Omi, Tommy, Kaiba and Toon Dark Magician Girl did the same. The two side flying towards each other, Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon drew all of its energy in, as one great lightning blast. Kaiba and Omi struck Bakura in his chest with their fists, he fell beneath them as they raced across the giant room. A crumble stopped the battle, the wall at the side of the fight disappeared, Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon and Pegasus fell to the ground at the sheer power of the explosion. In the hole stood Chase Young, Jack Spicer, Rita and Zedd. Omi gasped at the reinforcements and placed his shaking hand by his mouth, Kaiba looked at him.

"Hang in there. We didn't come all this way to blow it" Kaiba whispered.

"What have we here?" Chase asked. "The last four enemies have come to their doom all at once? How delicious".

"Actually, we came for the Sands of Time!" Omi shouted.

"Well, you can have it, if you reach it" Chase sniggered.

"But of course you won't" Jack sneered. "Jack bots, attack".

Several small robots entered the room, Omi's angered eyes narrowed, the robots flying above him were the cause of his friends' deaths. He leapt into the air and held onto the Orb of Tornami, he waved it above his head. A river emerged, crashing into the mechanic maniacs and breaking them into pieces. As Omi landed he turned to Kaiba, who watched without uttering a sound.

"Kaiba, you must get to the Sands of Time" Omi called. "It is clear to me that I am not meant to go back, you are".

"But Omi-" Kaiba protested.

"No buts! You have to" Omi interrupted. "To save Yami!"

Kaiba's eyes widened, Omi was willing to risk his life in order to give Kaiba the chance of going back in time. Kaiba was moved by the act and raced off, towards the Sands of Time. Tommy continued fighting off those he could. He leapt about, trying his best to stop Marik, Bakura and Chase Young, Pegasus and Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon volunteered to fight Rita, Zedd and Wuya while Toon Dark Magician Girl chased Jack Spicer who let out a high pitched squeal as she did. Kaiba jumped forward, as he held the timer-like Shen Gong-Wu, he heard deep and fast footsteps. He turned and to his horror, Chase had transformed into a giant lizard creature and was running towards him. Kaiba turned to Omi who stared back.

"Do it Kaiba!" Omi cried. "Stop that Ceremonial Duel! And good luck" Kaiba turned the Shen Gong-Wu upside down and called out its name, his voice echoed in the darkness as it began to shine.

"Sands of Time!" Kaiba called.

A bright light surrounded him, Omi watched with large tearful eyes as Kaiba disappeared. As the light shattered, Chase Young hissed, Omi jumped up and clung onto the wall high above where anyone could currently get to him, not taking his unbelieving eyes away from what had happened. They had finally done it, Kaiba was going to stop the Ceremonial Duel.

"Good luck" Omi whispered. 


	5. The Past Returns

**Chapter 4-The Past Returns  
**Tea sighed as she sat on her bed, there was nothing she could do to prevent destiny from happening. She fixed her eyes on her hands, cupped upon her legs below her short blood red skirt. With her greatest fear about to begin she prayed for those who were ready to face each other. Yami had only just found his name to be Atem and now, he had to battle one last time to determined whether he was to leave or stay. Tea prayed secretly within her heart that Yami would win and remain like she knew he wanted to. A knock on the door and Tea looked up, Joey entered the room, his hazel eyes met with Tea's depressed blue ones. Joey sighed and paced towards her, he sat down beside her without a word and took her hand, she looked up at him as he did, he looked at her face.

"Tea, I understand that you don't want this to happen, but its gotta" Joey sighed. "If it doesn't, Yami'll be trapped within the Millennium Puzzle forever".

"But he won't!" Tea cried. "Now that he knows who he is I'm sure he can get his own body"

"I dunno" Joey whispered. "But I don't want him to go either".

He looked down at the hand her held and turned back to Tea's head, he watched as tears flowed down her face, as if a small river flowing across the land. Joey placed his left hand behind Tea's head and pulled her towards him, she sobbed as he hushed, there was nothing that could prevent the damage that the upcoming battle would create.

Card after card after card. Yugi sat in a plush blue chair in his own room, building his deck to fight Yami with. He sighed, like Tea and Joey, he too did not want Yami to leave, but if Yugi was destined to defeat him, it would set Yami free. Yugi believed that Yami leaving was for the best, that it would mean he could rest forever, even if they would never meet again. The idea pulled at his heart, he had been with Yami for four years. four years of living inside each other, with each other, alongside each other. Yugi didn't see Yami as a parasite for living within him, he saw Yami as a friend who needed help. And the last thing he needed help with was to go home, the afterlife where his spirit could rest alongside those he had lived alongside as Pharaoh Atem. Yugi sighed again as he put the final card in, he then placed the deck down on the table and then pulled the small golden box with the Millennium Symbol on it. He had first found it when his grandfather brought it from Egypt. Within it, was the broken parts of the Millennium Puzzle that took Yugi eight years to complete. As he closed the lid to the box, he fell backwards in the chair, his back resting against the plush of the seat. He heard a voice, Yami appeared next to the chair, Yugi leaned forward and looked at him.

"Are you ready?" Yami asked.

"Yeah. I've finished and I'm ready" Yugi spoke. "And don't think I haven't put my heart into it, I intend to let you go home".

Yami smiled at his smaller counterpart as he stood beside him and scooped up the Millennium Puzzle in his hands. It began to glow as the two swapped places, Yugi hid within his own mind while Yami took control and looked down at the cards in front of him, scattered across the table. He noticed a familiar card, he slid his hand under it and pulled it towards him, a huge red dragon with two mouths and grey scales along its bottom half looked as though it was roaring.

_'Slifer, you've helped me so much since I first won you in Battle City. Help me again, please'_ Yami thought.

He placed the card to his right and began to build his own deck to counteract Yugi's. Outside, the night was dark and cold as Seto Kaiba stood by the doorway to the inside alone. There was not much that he could do now that Yugi had become Yami's opponent. Kaiba saw no reason to even stay, other than to see who would win. He growled at the though of Yugi losing when he believed he could defeat Yami, despite their past bouts.  
As the hours ran on, Yami worked on his deck and the others slept. The darkness faded as the red sun began to emerge. Yami's tired eyes stared upon his deck, he turned to his right and picked up Slifer the Sky Dragon once more before placing it within his deck. He sighed, his best possible deck was complete. He looked down by the left of the chair where the bag containing the other 6 Millennium Items; the Ring, Rod, Scales, Key, Eye and Necklace, sat. He placed his deck with the Duel Disk sitting nearby. He picked up the bag, placed Yugi's box within it and strapped his Duel Disk onto his arm. As the boat docked Yami left the room, as he walked into the light, he noticed everyone else on the boat standing on the pier. Joey, Tristan, Tea, Vicky, Destiny, Kaiba, Mokuba, Duke Devlin, Yugi's Grandpa, Ishizu Ishtar, Marik, Odion, Ryou Bakura; all waiting for him. Yami smiled as he stepped off of the boat and towards what could have been the completion of his destiny.  
The valley rocks raised high above the ground, Yugi was in control again. Everyone walked along in a group behind Ishizu as they made their way to the arena where Yugi and Yami would duel. The hot sun shining above them in the hot desert. Soon, a small tablet emerged, resting against the canyon wall for support. The doors on the ground were opened and Ishizu led the group down. The dark, green walls and steps continued for a while, Tea refused to continue, her legs stopped moving. Everyone around her did the same, they turned to her.

"What's wrong Tea?" Tristan asked. "Why'd you stop?"

"I don't think that now's a good time for this duel" Tea whispered. "Couldn't we just have a day or something with Yami before he leaves us?"

"She's right" Yugi sighed. "If I win, then Yami will disappear forever. We'll never see him again".

"Tea, please" Ishizu hissed. "If we do not allow the Pharaoh to go now then he may never get another chance. You understand, right?"

Tea sighed, unfortunately, she knew that was the truth. She closed her eyes and lowered her head, beside her, the Pharaoh's girlfriend stood still, her brunette fridge shadowing her eyes.

"Yeah" Tea muttered. "It's the best for Yami".

"I feel bad too Tea. But like Ishizu said, we have to do this for Yami" Yugi whispered. "I know what you're going through".

"Tea, remember what I said last night?" Joey asked. "Well, for doing this, you're one of the bravest people I know".

"Thanks Joey" Tea sighed.

The journey into the underground continued until finally a floor appeared beyond the steps. Ishizu and Yugi approached the large Millennium Stone while the others waited behind. Ishizu turned to Yugi and fell to her knees.

"If you are ready to duel the Pharaoh then place the seven Millennium Items into the Millennium Stone" Ishizu spoke.

Yugi nodded and walked further on, up the steps and onto the platform that rose slightly above the ground. He picked up the cool, golden Millennium Items one by one and placed them in their rightful places within the tablet. He place the Eye in its place, then the Key and the Scales. Ishizu watched as the Millennium Necklace that was once hers was placed in. Marik stared as the Millennium Rod was placed in it. Joey watched Bakura who stared at his Millennium Ring as Yugi placed in the five dangling pieces of gold beneath the Ring. Then Yugi looked up before his eyes fell where his hands rose. The Millennium Puzzle that had been around his neck for the past four years, the Puzzle that held Yami's spirit. Yugi looked back as he remembered the wish he made for friends. four years ago he was alone and now, he had so many friends, a lot were standing right behind him. Yugi turned back and thanked Yami as he pulled the Millennium Puzzle above his head. Tristan, Tea, Destiny, Vicky and Joey gasped as he held it above the Millennium Stone and slowly placed it in the middle where it was born. The Puzzle began to glow, Yugi stood and removed his box from the bag as a rough wind blew the bag away, his hair blew wildly, the Millennium Symbol above on the wall began to glow.

"What's going on?" Joey asked.

"The Eye on the wall is staring into Yugi's soul, searching for the Pharaoh" Ishizu explained.

Tea watched Yugi as his shadow began to part, revealing Yami's. Yugi's body flashed and next to him, Yami's body formed itself as they separated.

"Whoa" Joey gasped. "It's the Pharaoh!"

"Atem" Tea breathed.

Yami looked at Yugi who looked back, they turned their backs to the other and made their ways to the ends of the platform, Tea watched Yami as he did so, she knew that if he won, he could stay and he did have his own body as she predicted to Joey the night before. Vicky stared up as her partner walked to the western edge of the platform, ready to face his present day counterpart, her eyes shining with the tears urging to escape, it was really happening.

_'This is the first time in my life I've hoped for my opponent's victory' _Yami thought._ 'But in order to truly test if Yugi and I are to separate I have to fight with everything I have'.  
_

Yami turned as he thought, Yugi looked back and did the same. Yugi then knelt down and placed his golden box on the ground, he pulled his deck from it and into his Duel Disk, he pushed the box to the side and stood before Yami, ready to duel.

"Are you ready for this?" Yami asked.

"That's what we're here to find out!" Yugi called.

"Let's duel!" they called together.

"NO!"

Yami froze, he turned to the others, surprisingly, it hadn't been Tea or Vicky who had cried out in protest. But behind them, as the large group turned to behind them, Yugi and Yami gasped as the sight. It was Kaiba, holding the Sands of Time.

"Kaiba?" Tea asked. "There's two?"

"Yami, you can't duel!" Kaiba spoke.

Yami turned his body away from the Millennium Stone, he faced the group and the second Kaiba. The battered and bruised man looked the same as the one that stood by his little brother. Yami stepped to the edge of the platform as Kaiba tried to speak.

"Yami!" Kaiba whispered.

"Kaiba!" Yami called.

Kaiba's sight faded into darkness as his legs gave way, he began to fall towards the ground. Yami jumped from the platform, Yugi gasped as he left the duel that hadn't even started. The last sight Kaiba saw before darkness took over was Yami running towards him. 


	6. When The Present and Future Collide

**Chapter 5-When the Present and Future Collide**  
When the darkness lifted from Seto's sight, he saw him again, Yami, watching over him. Seto was in a bed within one of the rooms where the group had spent the night before. Seto gasped and leaned forwards slowly before Yami's voice caused him to cease.

"Take it easy" Yami suggested.

"Yami, its you" Seto whispered.

"What's going on?" Yami asked. "Why did you say I can't duel in the Ceremonial Duel?"

"My world" Seto muttered.

"Who are you?" Yami breathed.

"I am Seto Kaiba" Seto replied. "16 years from now" .

Yami gasped, he couldn't believe it., Seto then reached under his trench coat and pulled out the Sands of Time.

"Something tells me you'll believe me now" Seto hissed.

"The Sands of Time? What happened to Omi?" Yami asked.

"Omi's still out there. Fighting." Seto replied. "Yami,after you left, the world fell apart. For 11 years, we prepared for Bakura's return and after another 5, he destroyed everyone. The only ones left were Tommy Oliver, Pegasus, Omi and myself".

"I left?" Yami asked. "So...I lost?"

"Yes" Seto sighed.

Yami's eyes narrowed and fell to the floor, Seto looked up at them as they did. He watched as they began to sparkle, it was clear that tears were beginning to form.

"I can't believe it" Yami choked. "I'm going to leave? Forever".

"But now you won't!" Seto interrupted.

Yami's eyes looked up, staring at Seto for the last statement, Seto's sapphire eyes watched Yami's violet tear-filled eyes.

"Because that Ceremonial Duel didn't happen" Seto added. "Plus you have your own body. So you can stay now".

"Thank you Kaiba" Yami whispered.

Silence. Silence fell about as Tea sat in a plush armchair. With everyone aboard the ship that had carried them to the Ceremonial Duel the night before, there was not much to say. Joey paced around the room, baffled by the sight of two Seto Kaibas. Yugi was now with them, aware of Yami's situation. With his own body, he had his own will, and with orders from the Kaiba doppelganger, the Ceremonial Duel didn't seem to be taking place. Destiny and Vicky watched as Joey paced, almost glad that the second Kaiba had interrupted the destined duel, saving the Pharaoh from his fate, his destiny. Ryou Bakura sat close by, with the 7 Millennium Items having returned, Yugi felt that Bakura would have wanted to keep the same Millennium Ring he had owned for as long as Yugi had his Puzzle. Now the golden artefacts hung around their necks, like displaced citizens returning home. Yugi turned back to Joey, Tea and Tristan who also resided within the room.

"I can't understand why there's two Kaibas!" Joey called.

"Maybe there's a clue in that thing he was holding" Tea suggested. "It looked like one of those ancient timers".

"He looked pretty beat up too" Yugi spoke. "But I see don't see what that thing had to do with him coming here.

"Maybe he's an impostor!" Tristan growled. "Here to fool us into falling into another enemy's trap".

"I don't think so Tristan" Tea squeaked. "That 'Creator of Light' said that Yami was done with fighting evil".

"I guess not" Yugi sighed. "This seems pretty important and its gotta have evil involved in it somewhere".

"Perhaps we should ask Ishizu" Bakura asked. "Maybe she has an idea".

"Good call" Yugi called. "I just hope Yami and that Kaiba are OK".

"But I don't get it" Yami spoke. "I thought the Ceremonial Duel was going to be it. It was a good thing because I'd go".

"That's what we all thought" Seto whispered. "But we found out that Bakura had survived. He was gathering energy from the Shadow Realm. And after 11 years, he had gained enough to break free of the Shadow Realm. And with you, the only one to have stopped him, we didn't know what to do. He tried fusing our world and the Shadow Realm to become one. We called upon the Power Rangers and the Xiaolin dragons for help. But in the end, we still couldn't save the world like you had".

"Don't beat yourself up about it" Yami muttered. "It's going to be OK".

"No, it won't!" Seto called. "Time has changed now, because I've come back. Bakura's getting way more power quickly! If he gets too much in a short period of time, he'll kill you as well".

"What?" Yami breathed.

"I don't understand how such a major change occurred, but because I travelled back in time, it alters things" Seto explained. "Like the Ceremonial Duel. That hasn't happened because I came back to stop it".

"I understand" Yami spoke. "But if Bakura's gaining power that fast, we have to call the Power Rangers and the Xiaolin monks as soon as possible".

"You'll have to call them and tell them to prepare" Seto replied. "But we have no idea when Bakura will be done".

"We'll just have to prepare as much as possible then" Yami sighed. "If we can stop him from destroying our world, then your world will be restored to whatever it should be without Bakura's reign of evil".

Yami turned and began to walk to the door, as he dropped his hand towards the door handle, Seto's voice caused for him to freeze. He turned back to Seto who was leaning up, halfway between sitting and laying on the bed.

"Yami..." Seto whispered. "I can't thank you enough for your kindness. And I regret everything I said before. I didn't hate you or anything. I'm sorry".

"It's OK, Kaiba" Yami replied. "You have been under a lot of stress since I met you. I understand. We can still do this. Your world wouldn't happen for another 16 years!"  
Yami then opened the door silently and left the room, as the door closed slowly, Seto watched as the Pharaoh left. Seto simply stared in silence, unsure of what else to do to assist Yami in the upcoming war. Yami walked along the corridor within the boat, as he entered the end room on the right, he noticed Yugi, Joey, Tea, Vicky, Destiny, Tristan, Bakura, Kaiba, Mokuba and Ishizu. They all turned to him, having realized that Seto was no longer with him, he shut the door softly behind him and stepped forward. He felt nervous with all eyes in the room focusing on him, he sighed, waiting for the questions.

"So what's going on, Yami?" Yugi asked.

"That Kaiba is from 16 years in the future" Yami explained. "The timer he was holding is the Sands of Time, an item belonging to a friend of mine. He used It to travel back in time. You see, in his world I...I lost the Ceremonial Duel. I left and he said the world fell apart. Which is why he stopped our Ceremonial Duel. Bakura's gathering energy in the Shadow Realm. If we don't stop him, our world will end up just like his. We have to call on some friends or else, this world will fall into Bakura's hands too!"

**CuteYami: To avoid confusion, 'Seto' is the future Kaiba that stopped the Cermonial Duel, 'Kaiba' is just the present day Kaiba who has yet to believe everything.**


	7. The Will to Live

**Chapter 6-The Will to Live**  
As darkness fell upon the Egyptian dock; Yugi, Yami and Vicky listened to more of Seto's story, horrified by the fact that so many perished. In the larger room as that they had stayed in earlier; Destiny, Joey, Tea, Tristan, Ishizu, Marik and Bakura sat. None seemed brave enough to speak at all, let alone the warning from the destroyed future that they would have created. Odion entered the room, bringing news of the ship's soon departure, Ishizu nodded, the Ishtar brothers left. Within moments, Yugi entered, Vicky followed, their friends watched them as they made their way in.

"Seto said we all died in seriously gruesome ways" Yugi sighed.

"Yugi" Bakura whispered.

Yugi looked at the snow haired British, wondering what he could have been asking for in calling the spiky-haired one's name.

"If the evil spirit of the Ring is coming back, then I shouldn't have it" Bakura muttered. "He might try and take over my body like in the past".

He removed the Millennium Ring from around his neck and held it to Yugi, insisting that the current owner of the Millennium Items have it back. Yugi took the rope that Bakura held, the British boy then released it once again, Ishizu watched as the Ring travelled between the two.

"Thanks Bakura" Yugi breathed.

"Yugi" she murmured. "We must prepare for the upcoming battle, our duty as Tomb Keepers will not be complete until the Pharaoh has reached the end of his destiny".

Yugi gasped in horror, with everything going on, Ishizu was still talking about the Ceremonial Duel that had not happened, he rose, gripping the Ring's rope tightly.

"That's why you've helped us?!" Yugi yelled. "Because you want to send Yami away, to complete your 'mission'? There's more going on here then just sending Yami away you know!"

Yugi started growling in fury at Ishizu's apparent selfishness, tears formed at the bottoms of his eyes, she seemed stunned, unable to protest innocence.

"Screw you!" Yugi snapped. "I can't believe that you don't understand that sending Yami away will kill us all!"

Yugi then raced away, throwing the door open, Tea stared out, shocked by Yugi's drastic change of heart, Vicky got up and jumped towards the door, turning to Ishizu.

"I hope you're proud of yourself!" she spat.

Leaving the room, she raced after Yugi, Tea turned to Ishizu, a tear running down her face, she also left, following the pair. Destiny, Tristan and Joey raced after her as she followed the others. They all met up on the front dark, the sun's last light leaving them behind.

"Yugi!" Vicky called. "Forget Ishizu!"

She stopped beside Yugi, he stood saddened unable to believe that Ishizu was still insisting the Ceremonial Duel hadn't taken place for a reason. Tea, Destiny, Joey and Tristan stopped close by, staring at the Pharaoh's other half who stood clenching his fists angrily. As the last light left the skies and darkness fell upon the insides of the stationary vessel, Yami returned into the bedroom, Seto slept peacefully. Exhausted, he pulled a chair close by and watched Seto, Yugi then entered, waving at Yami, the Pharaoh smiled as a reply.

"How's Seto doing?" Yugi asked.

"It's been a long and tough fight for him, but he'll get better, eventually" Yami answered. "He's been though too much that his mind won't be scarred with horrific memories".

"Poor guy" Yugi sighed.

Yugi then sat in the plush blue chair he had the night before, close by, the bag with the Millennium Items within, he placed the Ring inside.

"The Millennium Ring?" Yami asked.

"Bakura thought it was best we hang onto it" Yugi replied.

Next to the bag, sat the two Duel Disks, one with Yugi's deck, the other, the most powerful deck on earth, Yami's with the three Egyptian God cards in it.

"We should sleep in these chairs tonight, Yami" Yugi insisted. "They'll be more comfortable".

Yami nodded as a sign of agreeing with him partner, Yugi then went to sleep, Yami looked back at Seto. He placed his hands in front of him, his head laid upon them, his eyes flickered between open and shut whilst watching the future form of KaibaCorp's CEO. His eyelids fell slightly as he yawned, seeming exhausted from his first day of having his own real body since his days in Ancient Egypt. Yami's eyes then closed completely as the ship set sail, darkness consuming the Pharaoh's conscious self, driving him into the sleep his body yearned for. As clouds covered the moonlight, Seto's sleep began to turn against him, memories of the future began to haunt him.

_Omi returned to KaibaCorp in the Shen Gong-Roo, there was no sign of the others; as the large robot creature entered; Vicky, Destiny, Tea and Tristan turned to it.  
_

_"Omi, where's Kimiko Clay and Raimundo?" Tristan asked.  
_

_"Don't tell me" Tea gasped.  
_

_"I am afraid so, my friends have been wiped out. Only the vessels for the burial remain" Omi sobbed.  
_

_"Omi, I'm sorry" Tea choked.  
_

_"Wait, where's Kaiba, Mokuba and Yugi?" Vicky asked. "Don't tell me they died too!"  
_

_"No, we split up into two groups, they will still be fighting" Omi replied.  
_

_"They'll be still fighting strong" Destiny insisted, positive of the situation in the trio's battle.  
_

_Out in the battle field where a nearby town once laid; Kaiba, Yugi and Mokuba all walked, ready for attack. Kaiba's Luster Dragon #2 and Yugi's Dark Magician floated above them. 3 years had passed since the war first began, Mokuba still clung his brother's cape, nervous about the area.  
_

_"Don't worry, Mokuba, it'll be OK" Kaiba insisted.  
_

_"I know, I just don't like it when its all quiet" Mokuba whispered.  
_

_An explosion then drew their attention, the sky above began to darken, a strong wind forced the three to stand their ground, Yugi's arm resided before his face.  
_

_"That loud enough for you?" he asked.  
_

_"I don't like it when it's loud either!" Mokuba yelled.  
_

_As the wind faded, Bakura stood atop his Diabound, Marik was close by, placing two cards on his Duel Disk. Two familiar monsters appeared, consisting of the Millennium Symbol and chains.  
_

_"Holding Arms and Holding Legs!" Marik yelled. "Get the Pharaoh's other half or Kaiba's brother! You choose!"  
_

_The two creatures raced after the trio, Dark Magician and Luster Dragon fired their attacks, but neither could hit the racing monsters. The three split up, racing in a different direction. __Holding Legs then ensnared the legs of its victim, Kaiba stopped and stared at which of the two it had chosen.  
_

_"Oh no!" Yugi yelled.  
_

_Holding Arms then joined it, dragging the small man from the ground, struggling with all he could, he couldn't escape.  
_

_"Mokuba!" Kaiba cried.  
_

_"Hang on, Mokuba!" Yugi called.  
_

_"We can't attack, we'll hit him!" Kaiba protested.  
_

_"I...er" Yugi mumbled. "We have to find something".  
_

_"So, we've got our first hostage" Bakura laughed.  
_

_"Come on, lets go!" Marik cackled.  
_

_The two then raced away, their monsters dragging the young Kaiba along, he turned back, desperately trying to reach Yugi and Kaiba.  
_

_"Seto!" he cried. "Yugi. Don't worry about me. Get out of here!"  
_

_"Mokuba, no!" Yugi cried.  
_

_Another explosion sent the two flying back, landing hard against the ground, Kaiba looked up to see Yugi unconscious. He quickly crawled to the spiky haired one beside him, shaking him with his shoulders.  
_

_"Yugi, wake up!" Kaiba called desperately.  
_

_Yugi's eyes opened slowly, injured from the blast and dazed from Mokuba's capture, Yugi sat up slowly, placing his hands against his forehead in despair._

Seto's eyes opened, he leapt up in the darkness, in doing so, a crash was heard. He looked at the side of the bed, Yami laid there having been knocked from his chair.

"Yami!" Seto hissed.

The Pharaoh rubbed his head, having been woken from the crash, he looked up at Seto, cold sweat poured from his forehead.

"Seto?" Yami asked.

"I'm sorry. I had a flashback, when Mokuba was captured" Seto choked.

"I understand" Yami replied. "Go back to sleep, Yugi did advise me to sleep in the armchairs".

The CEO did so, Yami looked out of the window as the boat continued before turning to the door on his right, almost desperate to leave the room.


	8. Dark Secret of Sacrifice

**Chapter 7-Dark Secret of Sacrifice  
**Yami walked out of the bedroom that he shared with both Yugi and Seto, walking down the corridor silently. Nightfall all around, Yami stood out on the front deck as his original homeland was once again left behind in his past. He stood alone as the gentle yet bitter wind brushed him. Unable to speak due to the complexity of Seto's arrival still lingering, Yami looked ahead at the darkness of the future ahead, the journey to Japan and the unavoidable battle against Bakura once again. With so many deaths haunting Seto's nightmares, Yami began to fear for the others, with his staying in the real world, would Bakura become more powerful to face him? Nothing but the imagined world of Seto's was surrounding the ship: darkness, the bitter cold, silence. The Pharaoh paced to the deck's edge, leaning against the rails reminding him of the night that he and Tea found his identity as the Pharaoh of Egypt. As he pulled away, a figure stepped out of the dark shadow of the boat's interiors.

"You're worried about when Bakura gets back" Vicky whispered.

Yami turned back facing her as she walked out, walking towards the worried Pharaoh, his eyes narrow as the truth came to the surface.

"Come on. When you worry about losing someone as close to you as you are to me, you pick up on things like this" Vicky muttered, stopping beside him. "As long as we have Seto to inform us of Bakura's army and basic strategy, we'll be OK. Besides, this time, you're here to lead us".

"Maybe" Yami sighed. "But I've always been Bakura's main target, what if he tries to become more powerful to take me on?"

"Then we'll just have to prepare for the worst and do so as well" Vicky replied.

"I don't understand how you can be so calm" Yami mumbled.

"I nearly lost you, then Seto came back and warned us of an apocalypse at Bakura's hands" Vicky answered. "Usually that's bad enough, but you were about to duel for the last time!"

"You know that Destiny knows what would have happened. Now everyone does, I would have lost" Yami exhaled.

"But now you have a second chance, your own body to lead us in defending the world again" Vicky called. "Ishizu said if we didn't do it there and then, you wouldn't have gained another chance!"

"Maybe, but something inside tells me otherwise, maybe it's just a feeling from the past, from my life as Pharaoh" Yami disagreed. "As Atem".

"I have a past life too. I know what you mean, it's like you know you've got to go back" Vicky summarized.

Yami nodded as a response, not much could be hidden from her, as close as they were and as dark as secrets and feelings may have been. The two lived within the same world, having given up a past life to be where they now stood. The two stared at each other for a moment of dark silence, Vicky turned to the darkened ripples of the water ahead.  
Within the interior of the ship, Yugi slumped the in comfort of the plush blue chair within the room he shared with Yami. The small teen groaned slightly as his eyes began to open, the darkness of his eyelids became no more, only that of the room itself remained. Searching the room for the missing Pharaoh, Yugi noticed the man in the bed, walking slowly towards him, Yugi reached out towards him. Only as he reached the bed did he realize that the sleeping person was Seto. Yugi's eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion, if Seto was sleeping in their room, where was Yami? The small duellist left the room, pacing throughout the corridor, as he paced through each door silently, he became increasing worried. It was only as he arrived toward the slightly opened door before the front deck that he calmed. Hearing the voices of both Vicky and Yami whispering to each other.

"You can't deny it. You're worried, so am I" Vicky continued. "The others would be too after hearing that they would have been killed by the one who we thought you finally finished off. Looks like the Creator of Light was wrong".

"Yes" Yami muttered. "But how could Bakura have survived? When we were playing in the Shadow Game, he returned the remainder of our souls to the game, the world of Ancient Egypt. The part of his soul that had infiltrated the Puzzle was also gone and the part that controlled Tristan whilst the others were in there".

"I know, the Ring was drained of all its power as well, without Bakura's spirit in there, it had no use" Vicky breathed.

"If we can get Kaiba on side, then maybe we could use his technology back at KaibaCorp to help us attack Bakura's remaining spirit wherever it may be" Yami added. "The Shadow Realm has been closed off, but I can go back there to search for him".

"You mean because you closed it you can open it when you want again?" Vicky asked.

"Yes" Yami sighed.

As the conversation moved to the darker region of existence, Yugi pulled back, the darkness upon the water's surface began to fade as the moon appeared from behind the blanketing clouds behind which it hid. Yugi pulled back into the interior of the vessel.

"It could be risky, but it's the only way if we're to stop Bakura before he returns and kills those who he desires to destroy first. We can't let him return" Yami continued.

Yugi backed away as the cold air fluttered in, he moved further, pacing backwards into the darkness, cutting himself off from the truth. Yami was willing to risk his life to stop a devastating war that happened 16 years in the future but was no guarantee now. Yugi then silently raced back to the room, Yami could have returned at any moment and find him out. As he once again entered his room, noticing Seto sleeping sounding in the bed, Yugi himself tiptoed over towards the plush chair he had been sleeping. Upon reaching it, he slipped into it slightly, trying not to focus on Yami's knowledge of the depth of the situation and trying to resume his sleep. Only a moment later did the door once again click shut, Yami stood there, watching the window above Yugi before slipping into the other blue armchair, falling asleep himself.

As dawn broke and the sunlight penetrated the room, Yugi awoke to find Yami before him, sound sleep in the armchair opposite. Yugi then rose from the armchair and left the room before he could disturb the Pharaoh. As he stepped out onto the front deck, he noticed land on the horizon, as the morning progressed, they would arrive within an hour. The same-yet warmer-wind brushed his skin, much more comfortably that the previous encounter. As he stared out at the sea, coloured by the reflection of the sun, instead of the black from the lack of light. Yugi sighed into the early air, before retreating into the luxury of the speeding vessel. Moving along the corridor, he heard the opening of another door, panicking that it could be Yami, Yugi dove into the larger room by his side in which he and the others had spent a lot of the last two days. The door began to open, Yugi hid behind the large blue armchair as he entered the room. Yugi's head rose to see who it was.

"Are you playing hide-and-seek with those dorks at this time?"

Yugi sighed and rose, Kaiba was standing before the closed door. Frustrated by Kaiba's lack of sense, Yugi growled, angered already by Kaiba's constant refusal to believe the truth, Yugi balled his right fist, holding it close to where the Millennium Puzzle once was. Denying the truth and claiming it to be magic was Kaiba's personal way to explain things, but an older version of himself from the future was just plain blindness.

"Come on Yugi. Even Wheeler's not stupid enough not to look here" Kaiba snarled.

"It's not a game!" Yugi yelled. "Can't you just shut up long enough for someone to tell you that you're not always right. You may be mighty and powerful in the world of games, but this is the real world! You can't just sweep things under the carpet by claiming it to be mind tricks. If you continue this up, then you're gonna drag us all down too, we'll end up just as Seto said!"

Without a reminder as to what the time was, Yugi felt that shouting at Kaiba was the only was to get through to him, the door began to open behind Kaiba. The stunned CEO moved out of the way, Yami's head poked in.

"What's going on?" he groaned tiredly.

Yugi just snorted and stormed past Kaiba, as well as Yami who just stepped to the right as the angered boy left. Confused about Yugi's outrage, Yami only turned to Kaiba, who only gave the same stunned look towards the Pharaoh. Yugi however just panted out sobs as he raced away. As he raced past the girls' room, Tea emerged, having heard all the commotion.

"Yugi!" she called.

Yugi then halted, keeping his eyes shadowed under his blonde bangs and his back to her. Tea left her room and paced carefully towards Yugi.

"Are you OK, Yugi?" she whispered.

As she reached inches behind the distraught teen, she noticed his shoulders jerk slightly. Before she knew it, Yugi turned and dove into her, calling her name whilst crying out in distress, all she could do was stare down at him as he broke the wall of silence he had built up minutes earlier. 


	9. Heading Back Home

**Chapter 8-Heading Back Home  
**Within the girls' room, 10 minutes later, Yugi and Tea sat alone, small hiccups were the only sounds, Yugi's distress calming down. Tea then placed her hand upon his back, he looked up at her with wide, wet eyes. Wiping his eyes once more with a moist tissue, he decided to confide within Tea as he always had.

"Tea, what am I going to do?" he sobbed.

"About what?" Tea asked.

"It's Yami" Yugi sighed. "I think we could lose him".

"What?!" Tea gasped. "But I thought it was the Ceremonial Duel that would cause him to leave our world. We didn't do it, we're on our way home and he's with us".

"It's about what Seto said" Yugi replied.

"Bakura?" Tea replied. "But he's never been able to defeat Yami".

"But I heard Yami and Vicky talking last night" Yugi explained. "Bakura survived the Memory World! He's going to come back! And if what Seto said is true, then he's going to stand a chance this time. Yami said he could open up the Shadow Realm to face Bakura before anything happens".

"But we don't have any idea when Bakura'll come back" Tea called.

"Destiny will" Yugi answered.

Outside of the room, out on the open deck, Yami stood alone, leaning against the rails, knowing something between him and Yugi had happened and disturbed their friendship to breaking point. He sighed, wishing the events of the night before could be reversed and erased. But there was nothing to be done now, he looked out as the Egyptian land came back into view, something he thought would never happen having set out for the Ceremonial Duel. Hearing footsteps onto the wooden boards behind him, he sighed and turned, surprised to see Seto approaching him.

"Yami" he started.

"Seto, I don't want to talk about it right now" Yami muttered.

"Something really bad must have happened" Seto said.

Yami turned to Seto, slightly angered by the confusing couple of days, glaring at Seto, revealing that anger.

"Since when could you sense things that once remained unexplainable?!" Yami snarled. "You didn't even believe in anything about me! All you cared about was trying to defeat me in a duel!"

Seto blinked and gave Yami the stunned look he had earlier, Yami's head jerked back slightly, realizing he may have just intruded too far. He looked to the ground, eyes narrowed, he turned away, feeling as though he was now incapable to face Seto without yelling. He began to lean against the rails before him, staring ahead, Seto then joined.

"So, when did you believe about me?" Yami asked.

"It was about a year, I was going to hold a tournament, typing away, listing every possible detail" Seto explained. "Then I thought to invite Yugi, a chance to duel with the King of Games!"

Yami turned his head towards Seto slightly as he paused and stared at the CEO in the corner of his eye, nothing had been wrong with duelling Kaiba before.

"Then I remembered that it was you I wanted to duel, but I could never have that chance again" Seto sighed.

Yami stared at the CEO, noticing the depression within his eyes, he had never seen him in such a way before, Kaiba was always filled with anger, but having experienced the literal end of the world, he seemed to have come to his senses and suffered a great deal for it. He turned away, knowing that Seto had experienced so much.

"I'm sorry about everything you had to go through after I left" he apologized.

"It's nothing compared to what you went through" Seto replied.

Yami turned back to him, confused about what he meant.

"I mean, ever since your father showed you the temple of the Egyptian Gods when you were young, you've had it rough. There was Zorc: defeating him meant you had to give up everything. Then there was threat after damn threat towards the world. You never got time for you, it was always Yugi who gained control when things calmed down" Seto explained.

Yami then turned away as the boat returned to the Egyptian port in which Ishizu explained Yami's 'final' mission. Both Yami and Seto left to depart inside. Once they entered, most of the other travellers emerged in the corridor. Outside the girls' room; Tea, Yugi, Vicky and Destiny stood together, meanwhile, Marik, Duke, Bakura, Joey and Tristan stood beside the hallway lead towards the exit. Ishizu, Odion, Grandpa, Mokuba and Kaiba stood alone, without speaking. All but Kaiba turned to Yami and Seto as they stopped close to Yugi and the girls.

"I suppose it's about time to face the world" Yami commanded.

"But how can two Seto Kaibas run around together?" Duke asked.

"That is a problem" Tristan mumbled.

Kaiba only moaned, apparently Yugi's rant had had no effect, Joey just glared before turning back towards Yami and Seto.

"If we get him some different clothes then no-one should recognize him as anyone more than a Kaiba impostor, right?" Tea asked.

"Hopefully, but where are we gonna get some clothes? And what about Yugi and Yami?" Joey called.

"When we were at KaibaLand, people believed Yugi was a look-alike" Tea explained.

"Let's just hope they're ready to buy it" Grandpa prayed.

"Speaking of 'buying' things" Joey murmured.

"We're flying back on my jet, Kaiba Craft 2" Kaiba growled. "The likelihood is we won't need costumes".

Once the group left the vessel, Seto placed sunglasses over his dark sapphire eyes to hide any facial resemblance, Yami, however, left without a disguise. Whilst waiting outside for the plane to arrive, the gang remained outside, all except for Kaiba, Mokuba and Grandpa. Ishizu, Marik and Odion stood before the large group.

"I understand that the Ceremonial Duel didn't happen, however, we understand that it was not to take place for a reason" Ishizu muttered. "The Pharaoh-I mean Atem-must battle against Bakura and the remainder of evil that not even the Creator of Light itself could see".

"We know you will do wonders against Bakura" Odion added.

"Are you should you don't want us to help you fight?" Marik offered.

"That's all right but you've done enough already" Yami explained. "You've already given me the ability to regain my memories and my toughest fight. And even further, you've shown us to the Valley of the Kings to the Millennium Stone. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't know who I am. Besides if Bakura unlocks the Shadow Realm, he might release Marik's evil, we can't risk dealing with both of them".

"Well, if you need us to join the fight, you know we'll always be here" Marik reminded.

"We wish you luck in your battle, Pharaoh. Seto, we hope your world can be restored" Ishizu wished.

"Thank you, Ishizu" Seto replied.

"We'll do all we can to stop Bakura" Yami added.

The Ishtars then departed, leaving the large group to watch them disappear, Seto watched Yami as he watched the Ishtars leave the scene. Once the three left the sight of those standing, Yami turned slightly towards those behind him and Yugi, just then, Kaiba came out of the airport behind them.

"Hey! The plane's here!" he yelled.

The group made their way into the airport, as they headed towards the aircraft, Kaiba and Mokuba broke away, Joey turned to them.

"Hey, aren't you two coming with us?" he called.

"We flew here using my Blue-Eyes Jet, Wheeler!" Kaiba snarled. "I suppose we'll meet back in Domino".

"See you then, Kaiba" Yugi replied.

Kaiba then left without another word, leaving everyone to follow Grandpa onto the plane, as they all filed in, Yami stared out at Egypt one last time. As his body left the Egyptian ground, he heard Seto sighing, almost as though he was watching the Pharaoh. He turned back, watching Seto before him, his face could not be seen by the Pharaoh. The doors closed, processors followed as normal and the plane began to race along the runway. Yami stared out the window at the last he would get of his home land for some time. Vicky and Seto, both sitting beside him, watched him as he bid farewell to his homeland once again. The plane flew higher above, above the clouds, giving the gang a heaven-like setting around them. The rest of the plane's passengers seemed to be very quite, the disturbance of the recent news still lurking fresh within their minds. Kaiba and Mokuba watched as the plane raced ahead and up into the clouds from the ground. Jumping into the Blue-Eyes jet, they two set out for the skies to return home.


	10. Searching the World

**Chapter 9-Searching the World  
**Morning turned to midday as the plane hovered over the Asian plate of the world, moving forward in time with each time zone it moved through. As the sun began to set, so did the plane itself, landing in Tokyo. The group left and departed in nearby taxis, heading for their hometown for some much deserved rest. In one taxi; Yami, Yugi, Vicky and Seto rode in one, Joey Duke and Tristan along with Grandpa, leaving Bakura, Tea and Destiny to travel on their own. With each group returning home, they were easily separated once Grandpa was dropped off. Once there; he and the others entered the Turtle Game Shop, leaving the question as to where Seto was to sleep. Not long after their arrival all was back to normal-besides Yami with his new acquired body and Seto arriving from the future-and peace was restored, temporarily. As the next morning broke and the sun rising high, Yugi and Yami began work on locating the precise location of Seto's partners around the world using Yugi's laptop. Seto and Vicky then began to work on keeping the Millennium Items safe in the bedroom. Both appeared as though they wanted to talk and discover more about the two worlds from which they were, but both hesitant to start the conversation. Eventually, breaking down, Vicky began, desperate to know the truth.

"So what happened to Yami's deck when he lost? Did Yugi take it back?" she asked.

"I wish, then we could've stood a chance against Bakura. But no, it just disappeared in an orb of coloured light, almost like an illusion" Seto replied.

"I see. Listen, I know you've heard this a lot, but I'm really sorry that you lost Mokuba like you did and the others. If that happened to Yami, neither me nor Tea would ever get over it" Vicky sighed. "That's why we were so reluctant to want Yugi to win".

"But Destiny knew" Seto finished.

"Yeah. She didn't tell me, but it almost felt obvious, no matter how many top-rank moves Yami would've pulled, Yugi'd just counter, right?" Vicky answered.

"Yes. I can still remember it. Yami had all three Egyptian God cards on the field" Seto recalled. "And with a combination of cards, Yugi was able to take them down".

"What?!?" Vicky called, her eyes widening. "He took down Obelisk, Slifer and the Winged Dragon of Ra?!"

"Yes. It's something one doesn't forget" Seto whispered.

"Now I'm really glad that you came and stopped the duel!" Vicky gapped.

"But he wasn't relying entirely upon them" Seto added. "He used Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl until Yugi played Silent Magician. After that, he resorted to Slifer, but Yugi had a card to stop him".

Vicky could only stare at Seto, still gapping as he continued to explain what had happened in the duel that would have broken the gang apart. Meanwhile, downstairs, Grandpa began to work on lunch as Yugi and Yami continued searching for any sign of the Xiaolin Monks, sure to find something soon. Grandpa then brought in triangular sandwiches, stopping by the twins to check their search.

"How are you boys doing?" he asked.

"We think we're getting close, the girl monk, Kimiko, is on the Internet a lot, we're just trying to track her down" Yugi explained, his eyes not leaving the screen or keyboard.

"Look at you, you look just as bad as Kaiba when he's typing away on his laptop. Your fingers never stop" Grandpa laughed. "Here you go, some lunch to keep you going".

The two left the Internet to take their lunch and thank Grandpa, he then left to deliver the rest to Vicky and Seto. As they began their lunch, Yugi turned away from the screen, giving his eyes a rest, leaving Yami to take over in the search for the Xiaolin Dragons. Across Domino City, the rest of the gang met up in their usual group, meeting at the Burger World in which Tea was once employed. She entered along with Joey, Tristan, Duke, Destiny and Bakura, all surprised that Yugi had not appeared. Once all sat and ordered, they seemed reluctant to mention the devastating war, especially in public, but then realized that due to their closeness, there was not much-if anything at all-to discuss. Tea looked out of the window next to her, remembering what Yugi had told her before. Destiny noticed the secrecy within her eyes, knowing she was hiding something from everyone.

"What do you guys think Seto doing" Joey sighed.

Tea and Destiny looked at him, surprised that he had cracked the silence and mention Seto without some sort of disgust within his voice.

"He's probably explaining more to Yami" Tea implied.

"So why can't we know what's going on?!" Joey yelled.

"Joey!" Destiny called.

"But he's right! We're a part of this too!" Tristan added. "Who does he think he is?"

"I think he's the guy who's been through this already!" Tea shouted.

"But we have to know what's going on!" Duke interrupted. "I wasn't in on it all last time".

Destiny and Bakura could only watch the others fight, the boys yelling in turn at Tea, who fought alone.

"I say we crash that party and find out what's going on!" Joey suggested.

"I'm right with ya, Joey!" Tristan laughed.

As the pair left their seats and turned towards the entrance, marched only a couple of steps, Tea only watched, dazed that they could take such an action. Destiny rose beside her, the same blackness covered her eyes that had Yugi the morning before.

"Leave them alone!" she called.

The two stopped and turned back, seeing her standing there so desperately.

"If you go and interrupt who knows what'll happen. You don't know what they could be talking about" Destiny added. "He came here to see Yami, not you too. You're always heckling him, just let them get their heads around this one. It's a lot more difficult than usual".

"Destiny" Tea whispered.

"She's right. Just let them work out what's going on. It can't be easy for Yami or Yugi alone, knowing you're supposed to die in such a way so soon" Bakura requested.

"But we died too!" Joey called back.

"Just listen for once, Joey, the burger's will be here in a minute" Duke demanded. "You're hungry and impatient, just eat first. That'll give them a little time".

Outnumbered themselves now, Joey and Tristan returned to the table as the burgers came over, the few surprised customers around the restaurant watched, as they had during the argument. Once the waitress left, Joey moved onto calmer topics.

"I called Serenity yesterday" he announced. "She coming over here for a while".

"You didn't tell her, did you?" Bakura gasped.

"Seto said she was part of the battle before, she's gotta help us out" Joey exclaimed.

"But this is your little sister!" Duke called. "You're putting her life at risk, she's too cute for that!"

"But when I told her, she insisted. I explained it would be too rough but she referred back to Battle City and taking care of Mai" Joey protested.

"What about Mai? Is she joining us?" Tristan asked.

"Well when she picked up, she was pretty quiet, but then I explained that I forgave her for the whole Orichalcos thing and she was fine" Joey answered.

_'The Orichalcos?'_ Destiny thought.

**Back at the Turtle Game Shop...  
**Yami checked another potential website, forums appeared before his eyes, working around the members he noticed the shout-box at the bottom of the screen. In it was some known as **FireXiaolinPrincess**, a name that jumped out at Yami.

"Yugi! I think we've found her!" Yami called.

Grandpa peered in from the kitchen while Yugi jumped next to Yami, staring intently at the screen.

"We need to e-mail her!" Yugi commanded.

"There's her e-mail address" Yami muttered.

Clicking on the blue underlined font, Yami then entered the screen where he had the chance to communicate with the potential fire Xiaolin dragon. Typing his message before opportunity would rot away, Yami concentrated on how to approach her in case he wasn't talking to Kimiko, Yugi watched as he typed in a single word-**_'Kimiko?'_**. Sending the e-mail was then done quickly and the only thing the two could do was wait for their reply. A moment passed before the return e-mail arrived. Yami opened it, Yugi held his breathed as the message became visible upon the screen.

**_"Yeah, who are you?"_**

"Yes" Yugi hissed excitedly.

As Yami began to type back to the located Dragon, Yugi turned to the stairs, staring as they disappeared beyond the roof.

"Vicky! Seto! We've found her!" he yelled.


	11. Lost in the Future Darkness

**Chapter 10-Lost in the Future Darkness  
**As the boys, Destiny and Tea departed from Burger World, Tea's phone began to vibrate, she picked it out of her bag noticing the familiar name upon the screen.

"Hello, Yugi?" she started.

The boys watched as she began listening to Yugi on the other end of the phone line.

"Uh-huh...yeah...You did? Great...so when are we meeting? Hang on, where are we meeting?" she muttered.

Tristan turned to Joey, having an idea as to the reality of the situation and cause of the call.

"You think they've found someone?" he muttered.

"Probably, Tea sounds really excited" Joey whispered.

"OK, see you then" Tea finished.

Putting her mobile away, she returned to those before her, all of whom watched her, Destiny lifted her head and also watched Tea.

"Yugi says they've found the Xiaolin monks that they've been searching for" she announced.

"We should get back there to check it out, I mean, it's not like they live in Domino" Duke suggested.

"Duke's right, let's go!" Joey ordered.

The group then began their race back towards the Game Shop that Yugi called home. As they did so, Seto used Yugi's phone to call KaibaCorp. Feeling it would be the only way to try and get his young counterpart to listen, he decided to give it a try, as well as the fact that there needed to be somewhere to meet with the Xiaolin Dragons. Yami continued typing away, trying to figure out how and where to meet Kimiko and her friends. Yugi then leaned onto the Pharaoh's shoulder and broke the virtual silence between himself and Yami.

"What about that Dragon of their's, Dojo?" he asked.

"Of course" Yami gasped.

He then began to type away furiously, trying to get the message to her before she tried to find another way. Yugi watched as the Pharaoh used the technology that he would have been incapable of using not so long ago, typing in quickly, **_does Dojo know where Domino City is?_** The message was then sent, Yugi and Yami watched on nervously as they awaited their reply. Vicky entered down the stairs, watching as Seto waited for Kaiba to pick up whilst Yugi and Yami gazed at the laptop.

**_"He says he knows its somewhere close to Tokyo, right?" _**

"Yes. We could meet them in Tokyo!" Yugi called.

"Yes. But what about the others? They're all the way in America" Yami asked.

"Kaiba!" Yugi hissed. "Yami, you've got more experience at yelling at Kaiba, besides, your eyes'll go numb if you carry on too much longer".

"Fine" Yami sighed. "Seto, come on. Forget proper channels, we're heading straight to KaibaCorp!"

"Really?!" Seto gasped. "It's been a long time".

Yami then walked to the door, opening it and rushing out, Seto followed, slamming the door behind him, Yugi cringed as the loud bang rattled his head. Vicky then sat down beside Yugi as they arranged for the rendezvous. Only a moment after Yami and Seto left did a knock at the door confuse the pair of teenagers on the sofa.

"I'll get it" Grandpa called, pacing behind them.

He then pulled the door open, both Yugi and Vicky turned to it to see who was there. Yugi smiled when Tea walked in, followed by Joey and Destiny then Tristan, Bakura and Duke.

"Hey guys!" Yugi called.

"Hey, you found them!" Joey called.

"So, how are things in meeting up?" Tea asked.

"Well, they says their dragon knows where Tokyo is, she lived there before leaving for the temple" Vicky answered.

"Yeah, her dad owns a major toys company there" Yugi added. "I think we can meet them tomorrow".

"Awesome!" Tristan called. "Then we need to get those Power Ranger guys from America".

"Yami and Seto are on it" Yugi replied.

Tea, Duke and Joey just blinked in confusion, having not a clue as to what Yugi meant with the pair being absent. Meanwhile, the two were heading up towards KaibaCorp, the building's base becoming visible. As they entered the lobby, receptionists and workers walked around.

"Now what?" Seto sighed.

Yami's eyes widened with the idea that would have smacked them if he had forgotten, he turned to Seto.

"Seto! You're Kaiba!" Yami called.

"Oh yeah. It's just so long since I was surrounded by employees" Seto chuckled.

The pair then just walked through, workers staring at the reappearance of their CEO, a receptionist quivered as they came close to her. Her muttered caused Seto to halt, Yami steps later.

"Mr Kaiba" she squeaked. "I-I didn't see you come back, especially with Yugi Muto. Is he with you or do you want me to get security?"

Yami's eyes widened, his jaw dropped, Kaiba's high defences was bad enough, but being threatened by a nervous receptionist as a first line of defence was going too far.

"NO!" Seto yelled. "He's with me. There's no need to throw him out. He's just here with me to help me out with some talks with Pegasus about new Duel Monsters cards, I'm not too fond of the guy".

He then walked away, Yami glared at the woman angrily before following Seto away. She began to quiver again, the frustration had seemed to transfer from Kaiba to Yami in the moment she made the implication to the CEO. Within the elevator they now rode in, Yami stared ahead angrily, Seto looked down at him in the corner of his eye.

"I'm sorry about her, I didn't mean for this to cause such a ruckus" he apologized.

"Save it. You're not the Kaiba who should be apologizing" Yami growled.

Seto then shut his mouth so not to provoke Yami further, at least not until the arrival at Kaiba's office. As the elevator doors opened, Yami began to storm down the corridor whilst Seto relived deja-vu in seeing his old company.

"Yami, wait, if you barge in he really will throw you out!" Seto called.

"Not if security freaks out seeing two of you" Yami snarled.

"Oh no. I've got a bad feeling about this" Seto sighed.

* * *

**Back at the Game Shop...  
**Yugi turned to those behind him, the rendezvous set and the group set, Grandpa watched from the kitchen, as one adventure came to an end, another one was beginning. It seemed that the loop was destined to continue until a further future, endangering their lives seemed to become daily routine. He sighed, Seto's disturbing news had opened a door that had never been there before: the thought of losing Yugi and the kids. Duels and tournaments to decide the fate of the world were fine, Yugi and Yami could handle anyone in a game of Duel Monsters. But this was actual fighting and risking their lives in more than just a tournament, Seto had brought news of Yugi's death as well as the downfall of all the others. Grandpa then looked in the living room again, watching the teens talking excitedly about their back-up. His eyes narrowed, almost in fear of losing Yugi, of this being his last time of seeing his only grandson. He sighed, knowing that their lives had been endangered so much in their short existence, he began to fear this time, they may actually fail.**

* * *

**

**At KaibaCorp...  
**Yami stopped before the pine doors that were the entrance, he stared at it angrily, Kaiba's defences were set much too high, cutting him off from the truth. Normally, it wouldn't matter, but the fate of the world was depending on their co-operation. Yami then placed his hand on the handle of the door, a flash stopped him, frozen in an unknown feeling, he saw it all.

_"Come on Tea, run!" Yugi called.  
_

_Yami turned to find himself in the future, staring at the older Yugi whose voice had finally broken. Racing along with Tea, Kaiba and Vicky, the calling leader found himself unable to __protect all at once. The group raced along, Bakura following them on his Diabound. Yami could only watch as the group raced for what could be the last of their lives.  
_

_"Yugi, he's gaining on us" Tea cried, panicking.  
_

_"What'll we do?" Vicky asked.  
_

_"Just try and get away!" Yugi called back.  
_

_As they trekked along the desert-like wasteland, Bakura began cackling, a Shadow Realm portal opened, Yami Marik stepped out. Causing the group to halt, surrounded.  
_

_"Who knew the Pharaoh's hidden power meant he had to leave?" Yami Marik joked. "Now you're nothing without him!"  
_

_He then began laughing in his usual insane manner, Yugi turned to Kaiba and the girls.  
_

_"You guys get out of here" he commanded.  
_

_"But Yugi-" Tea cried.  
_

_"If Yami were here, he'd do the same thing. I may not have him in my mind anymore, but I knew him well enough" Yugi growled. "Run!"  
_

_The girls then raced away, Kaiba glared at Yugi, determined not to leave him alone against the pair.  
_

_"Yugi!" Kaiba hissed.  
_

_"Kaiba, don't tell me this is about 'glory'. Yami and I duelled these guys before. I've defeated Bakura at his best, please Kaiba. You can't risk your life too, take care of the girls" Yugi __protested.  
_

_"Good luck. Make the Pharaoh proud" Kaiba wished.  
_

_Yugi then activated his Duel Disk, placing Dark Magician and Black Luster Soldier onto it, the two life-like holograms appeared.  
_

_"So, your Pharaoh' magician servant and the Black Luster Soldier, hardly a match for my Diabound!" Bakura chortled. "In case you've forgotten, Diabound has already destroyed several strong monsters, including Gaia and Flame Swordsman!"  
_

_"I'm aware of that, but I have to defend my friends!" Yugi snarled.  
_

_"Defend your friends?! You won't even be able to defend yourself!" Yami Marik laughed.  
_

_"We'll just see. Black Luster Soldier, Dark Magician, attack!" Yugi commanded.  
_

_The two high-levelled monsters then launched themselves at the Diabound hovering over them. Yami watched as Diabound then reflected their attacks, causing the pair to fall back __towards Yugi, crashing before him. Yugi then stared up, watching in terror as Diabound prepared its Helical Shockwave attack. Yami gasped, realizing he was watching Yugi's future __demise, though in vain, he called out to his partner.  
_

_"Yugi! No!" he cried.  
_

_"Give my regards to the Pharaoh!" Bakura cackled.  
_

_The attack shot forth, slamming into Yugi, Dark Magician and Black Luster Soldier; the girls and Kaiba jumped out from hiding.  
_

_"Yugi!" they screamed.  
_

_Yugi could only yell out as the equivalent of Duel Monsters life points was taken from his very body.  
_

_"YUGI!" Yami shouted.  
_

_The attack finally came to an end, Yugi trembled before landing on his knees.  
_

_"I'm sorry Yami" he whispered.  
_

_All his strength was mustered, leaving him to fall forward and land on the ground; Tea and Vicky raced towards him, crying and yelling at the same time with pinched panicked voices. Kaiba then brought out his Blue-Eyes White Dragon, leaving it to hover about Yugi's lifeless body, protecting it from harm. Yami floated transparently, dazed by Yugi's bravery in his final moments, but none the less-he had just witness his partner's final stand.  
_

_"Yami" Kaiba's voice called. "Yami, you OK? YAMI!"_

Yami then blinked, when his eyes opened he was no longer staring at Yugi laying before him, but the entrance to Kaiba's office. He turned his head, Seto stood beside him, his hands tightly gripping Yami's shoulders.

"I've been shaking you for a few minutes, I was starting to get worried" Seto sighed.

Yami stared back at the doors before him, his right hand now shaking whilst gripping the door handle before him. He tried to remove it, but watching Yugi's demise seemed to have damaged the Pharaoh mentally, he stared up again. Silent tears fell slowly, his mental battering was already affecting him seriously, remembering the words Seto told him. _You know what it's like, when you're the last thing they see._ Yami then threw open the doors; inside, Kaiba and Mokuba stared at the doorway now opened, Yami stood there, a single tear running down each side of his face.

"Kaiba" Yami called. "You need to listen to me!"


	12. Revolution in Tokyo

**Chapter 11-Revolution in Tokyo**  
As evening began to reign over Domino City and darkness clouded the sky, the gang began to prepare for their trip to Tokyo in the morning. At the Turtle Game Shop; Yugi and Vicky waited anxiously in the living room; Yami and Seto still hadn't returned from KaibaCorp. Yugi tried to ring Kaiba's office, knowing that's where they would still be, panicking that Yami could have travelled into the Shadow Realm. But to no avail, once again put onto hold, forcing him to hang up.

"It's been like 5 hours, where are they?" Vicky asked worriedly.

'If Yami did go into the Shadow Realm, I'll never forgive myself. It was my duel against him that caused all of this' Yugi thought.

The door then opened, forcing the pair to stare and find out who it was. Seto entered, his hands clenched firmly onto Yami's shoulders once again, standing behind the exhausted-looking Pharaoh.

Yami stood, pale and eyes closed, almost leaning backwards against Seto's hands holding him up.

"Yami!" Vicky called.

"What happened?!" Yugi yelped. "Seto, you've had to carry him back?!"

"Yeah. Something happened to Yami before we entered my old office" Seto explained. "Nothing bad, but it seems to have shaken him up quite a bit".

"What shook it him up?" Grandpa asked, entering down the stairs.

"Well, when he grabbed the door handle, he had a vision..." Seto muttered.

"Of what?" Yugi asked.

"Of...you" Seto sighed. "When you...when Bakura killed you".

Yugi, Vicky and Grandpa stood in the living room, gapping at Seto in horror, Yami made no reaction, almost as though he was sleeping to calm down.

"I remember it clearly. Your scream of pain. Tea's cry to you. Your last dying words, apologizing to Yami" Seto mumbled.

"When I...died...he saw my..." Yugi stammered.

_'Yugi's real death?'_ Grandpa thought.

"He knows it won't happen this time, things are different, but seeing someone that close to you die like that, it's too much" Seto explained. "I never saw Mokuba after Bakura's thugs took him".

"Maybe he should stay here tomorrow, just to let him rest" Grandpa suggested. "It might be too much for him".

"Thanks Grandpa" Yugi chirped. "Come on, he can rest on the sofa".

Yugi then pulled the Pharaoh's arm over his shoulder, the alter ego nearly falling before him. Yugi then dragged him towards the sofa before rolling him onto the sofa, leaving the Pharaoh laying on his stomach. Yami just laid, unconscious, Grandpa pulled a blanket out of the cupboard under the stairs and brought it over before draping it over Yami, tucking it around his shoulders. Yugi stared at Yami, looking so pale he seemed ill, all he could do was lay down, head against a cushion and think about the horror he had seen earlier in his comatose state. Vicky turned to Seto, also worried about Yami's condition and the possible effects of the trip through time. She stared back at him, he seemed so helpless, in a way she had never seen him before, then turned to Seto.

"Was I with you guys?" she asked.

"Yeah, you were just as devastated as Tea. It took you two girls weeks to get over it" Seto explained. "He led us through so much, one of the last to perish. Only you two remained".

Vicky's body filled with fear upon hearing the true ferocity of the final casualties of the war, she stared down again at Yami, the power held within him made him the target of countless rivals for the last four years and when he himself received it, it caused his final stand to end in a blaze of glory. A blaze that was destined to bring the end of life on earth.

* * *

**Next morning...**  
Yami awoke to find himself in the living room, he looked around, last he could remember, he was in Kaiba's office. He looked around, his blurred vision clearing slowly.

"Up now I see?" Grandpa asked.

Yami turned to see the elderly guardian walk towards him, he then bent over, resting his upper half's weight on his hands. Grandpa stopped beside him, holding a plate with sandwiches upon it.

"You need to keep up your strength" Grandpa insisted.

"Grandpa? What happened?" Yami asked. "Where's Yugi?!"

"Calm down, it's OK" Grandpa hushed.

Yami then sat, the blanket twisted around his waist and legs, Grandpa sat next to him, placing the plate on the side table.

"Seto brought you home last night. He said you saw Yugi's...er...in the future" Grandpa sighed. "You blacked out or something. We thought it was the best if you stayed here and rested. Yugi and Vicky have gone with the others to Tokyo. They'll be back in a couple of hours. It's about lunchtime".

"Grandpa" Yami whispered.

The Pharaoh then placed his hands against his forehead, pulling the skin around his eyes for a second before the palms fell to his cheeks, balancing his elbows on his blanket-covered knees. Grandpa felt compassion, knowing Yami had even less of a family than Yugi in Egypt, let alone in the present day. Grandpa then pulled Yami over to him, cuddling the distraught Pharaoh, comforting him in the same way he would his real grandson.  
Meanwhile, Seto rapidly along the main roads leading to Tokyo in a KaibaCorp limo. With Yami having blacked out in his office, Kaiba had offered the group a limo to get to and from Tokyo. In the back; Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan, Bakura, Duke, Destiny and Vicky all sat, muttering separate conversation. Along the right; Joey and Duke spoke of Serenity and the plans to meet her in Tokyo as well, on the left; Tristan, Destiny and Bakura discussing the Tomb Robber's return and how he could. Along the back, Yugi and Tea discussed quietly what Seto had explained the night before about Yami's vision, Vicky simply stared out the window with the cold air blowing in her face, her eyes narrowed to protect them from the wind's force. Yugi and Tea turned to her, concerned about her hushed daze.

"He'll be alright" Yugi whispered.

Vicky turned to Yugi and Tea having heard what the spiky-haired boy had to say, Seto also glanced in the mirror close to his head, looking at Vicky and Yugi, knowing their conversation was surrounding Yami.

"Yami will be back to normal after a quiet day at home with Grandpa" Yugi insisted.

Vicky smiled at Yugi's reassurance, knowing that Grandpa did care for people who needed it well, she then began to worry about the cause.

"I understand" she replied. "But I'm worried about how Bakura could have come back. Every part of his soul eventually joined together when he powered himself up as Zorc".

"That's what we were worried about" Destiny added.

"I haven't sensed anything from inside the Millennium Ring" Bakura exclaimed.

"It doesn't make sense. Since he used all his soul as Zorc, how could he have survived?" Tea asked.

"If he was sent to the Shadow Realm, then he can't escape, by defeating him, the Shadow Realm was locked up" Tristan called.

Yugi's eyes narrowed as his head lowered a little, knowing the truth, knowing Yami was planning to enter the Shadow Realm and risk his life. Was he still planning it even now? Yugi turned to Vicky, she didn't seem to be concerned for Yami's safety, she seemed pretty confident about his abilities. Within the hour, the limo came to a halt, the group pulled themselves from the limo and looked around at the area, finding themselves outside of Kimiko's father's toy company.

"Hey guys!"

Joey, Tristan and Duke turned to see Serenity running towards them, waving her right arm in the air. Both Tristan and Duke attempted to rush towards her, until Joey pulled them back and raced to his little sister instead. The two ran into each other's arms; the others watched the sibling embrace.

"Hey Joey. How have you been? It's been a long time since Battle City" Serenity asked.

"I've been great, a lot's happened. We've got a couple of new friends coming over around here soon" Joey replied.

"Hey, is something different about Kaiba. I mean, he looks the same, but a little something inside seems different" Serenity whispered.

"That's not exactly Kaiba" Joey replied. "Well, it is, but he's from 16 years in the future, to a time when Bakura came and well...took over the world".

"Wow. I think I get where this is going" Serenity sighed. "This is what you were talking to me about over the phone".

The group reformed as a strong wind picked up, Yugi stared up as a long giant green dragon slithered its way along the sky, almost like the Orichalcos Lithuathan had on the verge of global domination itself. The group stared up as the dragon approached them, four people then leapt from it, gliding gracefully towards the ground. The only female landing first followed by her three male comrades and lastly the dragon, shrinking down it his normal size.

"Kimiko!" Yugi called.

"Omi, Raimundo" Vicky added.

"And that's Clay?" Bakura asked.

"Hiya guys, glad you could make it" Kimiko chirped.

"Heya, like the size changing dragon ya got there" Joey complimented.

"We are glad to meet up with all you again" Omi greeted. "If this is Tokyo, then how do we get to your city?"

"You mean Domino?" Raimundo corrected.

"That is what it is called?" Omi asked. "Sounds like a town where people play dominoes a lot"

"Close enough" Tea laughed.

"Come on!" Seto called. "We need to get back to check on Grandpa and Yami!"

The group dove into the limo, taking up more room than before, Seto then prepared them for the trip home, hoping to be back before sunset. The limo's tyres screeched as Seto began the journey home along with another group of needed comrades. Their next task-getting the rest.


	13. Two Items, Two Souls, One Link

**Chapter 12-Two Items, Two Souls, One Link  
**As the limo raced along the roads back towards Domino, the monks and their Japanese friends began to make conversation regarding the last while since they first met. Back in Domino, Kaiba watched out the window behind his office, waiting for any sign of the limo or the sun's falling from the sky. Mokuba walked in, Kaiba stared at his reflection in the glass.

"Seto, I'm worried. What if Yami was telling the truth?" he asked. "That other Kaiba from the future has been here for a few days, no-one is good enough play you for that long".

"The idea of me coming from the future is understandable" Kaiba replied. "But why would I return to Yami?"

"He said its because I was taken away and couldn't handle it all by himself, he's trying to get you guys to work together!" Mokuba called. "Remember how messed up Yami looked when he came in?"

Kaiba only glanced at Mokuba for a second longer, he continued to stare out the window, his blue eyes the focus of his attention. The depth of power they brought, no glimpse of any breakdown towards Yami's plea earlier, his eyes then moved, from their own reflection to Mokuba's.

"I mean, come on Seto, when he got all worked up" Mokuba added. "You can't fake that and then he blacked out! Don't tell me that was an act".

Kaiba then stared again, seeing Yami collapse in Seto's arms, it sent a shiver down his spine.

_"Kaiba, you have to listen to me!" Yami called.  
_

_Kaiba growled as the Pharaoh entered with the CEO's future alter ego, Mokuba stood beside his desk, not moving, not surprised by the entrance made by the two.  
_

_"Have you been crying?" Kaiba asked.  
_

_"I saw what'll happen in you don't help us" Yami snapped. "Yugi dying, right before you!"  
_

_Kaiba sneered, still unable to believe, he then watched as the Pharaoh wiped away the single tears that stayed in place.  
_

_"If you don't stop playing games, you'll be risking everyone's lives. Bakura is not going to wait 11 years. He's coming back now! Soon, I can feel it. We're both from Egypt, there's some sort of link between us. Where he is, I don't know".  
_

_"You still don't get it. You can't be from Ancient Egypt, you know how to play Duel Monsters and everything that a normal kid could" Kaiba yelled.  
_

_"But I'm not a normal kid!" Yami shouted back. "If I was, how have I been existing inside of Yugi's mind?! If that wasn't true then the Ceremonial Duel wouldn't exist and none of this __would be happening!" Seto stared at Yami, the Pharaoh now resorted to panting from the shouts he threw at Kaiba.  
_

_"This make-believe game is a bit old now. 4 years is long enough!" Kaiba laughed.  
_

_"This is no game. If I wasn't who I say I am, then how do you explain what's happened? Who I really am then!" Yami yelled.  
_

_"You're no Pharaoh!" Kaiba protested.  
_

_"And you're no Kaiba!" Yami snapped.  
_

_"What?" Kaiba gasped.  
_

_"Mokuba told me about that chess game against your step-father before you were adopted" Yami exclaimed. "How you cheated to win and get you and him out of there. You can't call yourself a Kaiba, so if anyone knows about being a fake, it's **you**!"  
_

_Yami then placed his hand against his forehead, feeling the beads of sweat fall, Seto watched him. Kaiba snarled, something so personal, shared with who he considered his rival and mortal enemy. Yami then began to fall forward; Mokuba yelled out, Seto then grabbed Yami left arm as he descended, twisting the Pharaoh's body, catching his chest against his left arm, Kaiba's eyes widened slightly. Seto then pulled the Pharaoh to him.  
_

_"Looks like your refusal to help is already destroying us" Seto snarled.  
_

_But before Kaiba could protest, Seto pulled Yami from the ground, holding him close in his arm, Yami's face now hidden from Kaiba against Seto's chest.  
_

Darkness fell upon the highest peaks of the sky, with the sun now leaving its usual post. Kaiba gave up on waiting for the packed vehicle, walking away and allowing the sun to sink further.  
**

* * *

**

**At the Game Shop...**  
At the Turtle Game Shop, Yami sat on the sofa, talking to Grandpa, the first time he had a chance to do something like it since being released from the Puzzle. As the evening ran on further, Yami left to be alone in the bedroom, Grandpa began to work on dinner, creating a feast for the teenagers upon their return. A way of feeding them all and at the same time, a way to express his worry without them realizing. Within 20 minutes of Yami having left, the door opened. Grandpa raced into the living room as the large group entered.

"Hey Grandpa!" Yugi called.

"Where's Yami got to?" Joey asked.

"He's upstairs, it been a rough couple of days for him" Grandpa sighed. "Why don't you go and see him Yugi? I'll call you both when dinner's done".

"Speaking of dinner, what the heck are you cooking?" Tristan asked. "It looks like a banquet for a royal family or the Prime Minister".

"Close enough. I want you all to have dinner here" Grandpa insisted. "Things are going to get crowded what with Seto and your new friends moving in for a while".

"Don't worry Mr Muto, not all will stay. Yugi said Omi should live here" Tea explained. "Destiny and Kimiko are staying over mine, Raimundo offered to stay at Joey's and Serenity's. Then Clay said he'd stay at Bakura's".

"Really?" Grandpa gasped. "Well I suppose it'll leave more room for the rest of us".

"Mr Solomon Muto?" Omi asked. "It is an honour to be staying with the man who claimed the sacred Millennium Puzzle from the deadly pyramids of Egypt".

"No need to make a big fuss of it, I don't" Grandpa chuckled. "And please call me Grandpa, all of the others do".

Upstairs in the bedroom, Yugi and Yami talked about what he had seen, the destruction of the smaller twin.

"I could hear you scream. I went all cold" Yami recalled. "Then Tea, Vicky and Kaiba came out of hiding. Your monsters disappeared and you fell to your knees. Your dying words were to me, you said, 'I'm sorry Yami' when you fell forward. I can't help but think that when this battle happens, I really could lose you the same way".

"Yami, you don't need to worry, Bakura likes to duel, that's what he did to delay me giving you your real name" Yugi explained. "He'll challenge you and lose".

"But it's not just him. The others, their enemies are supposed to be in it and Marik" Yami explained.

"We'll find a way...somehow" Yugi replied. "Listen, you've just had a bit of a rough time the last few days. Let us handle getting the Power Rangers here. I've heard they live in America".

"But Yugi-" Yami whispered.

"I don't want to risk you getting hurt too close to before Bakura comes" Yugi interrupted.

"He's coming now!" Yami called. "Bakura is powering up in the Shadow Realm!"

"What?!" Yugi gasped. "How do you-?"

"Bakura and I are the same as our Millennium Items" Yami explained. "I can't tell how long he's planning to stay or how strong he is, but I can feel him. He's using the Shadow Realm to power himself up".

"But he's trapped there" Yugi claimed. "It shouldn't matter".

"I know there's a way he can get out if he's done this before, but I don't know how he can escape" Yami sighed.

"You're not doing it!" Yugi yelled.

"What?" Yami asked.

Yugi then covered his mouth, realizing he had just blown his secret eavesdropping, he stared at Yami who glared at him in a way Yugi had never seen before, suspiciously.

"OK" Yugi sighed. "I heard you talking to Vicky during the night on the boat. You were talking about heading into the Shadow Realm to stop Bakura before he could get here".

"What, do you think I would leave an exit open for him or something?!" Yami laughed. "Yugi, I'll only do that if we need to".

"But you said-" Yugi cried.

"Don't worry. It's what I'm saying now that counts" Yami whispered, holding Yugi to him.

"Yugi, Yami, come down here!" Grandpa yelled.

The pair then left the bedroom and headed downstairs, Yami stared as the gang spread around the room, the Xiaolin Warriors mixed within the groups.

"Looks like catching up isn't going to be too hard" Yugi laughed. "Omi's going to sleep down here with Seto".

Yami smiled and the two continued down the rest of the stairs, heading towards the large crowd, Grandpa and Vicky smiled as they watched the pair walking down, all seeming to have returned as close to normal as currently possible.


	14. Dark Secret of the Past

**Chapter 13-Dark Secrets of the Past**  
As darkness hovered over the skies above Domino, the gang returned to their respective homes, leaving Omi and Dojo at the Game Shop waving them off. Yami and Yugi sat upon the large sofa, Yugi watching the Pharaoh as he sat staring into nothingness, Vicky stood beside the door, watching the pair while Grandpa sat in on of the armchairs close by, resting his eyes now and again. Omi slammed the door before turning to the group.

"Where is Seto?" he asked.

"He went to take Kaiba's limo back, it's pretty late and he thought it'd be risky leaving it here" Vicky sighed. "We're not really sure about who is true. Even with the Shadow Realm closed, there are others that could contribute to helping Bakura escape".

"This 'Shadow Realm' you speak of" Omi started. "What is it?"

"A dark realm where evil rules and lives are destroyed. It's used for Shadow Games, meant to crush the minds and souls of those who lose" Yami summarized.

"Sounds a little like the Yin-Yang world" Omi muttered.

"The Yin-Yang world?" Vicky asked.

"Yes, there are two Shen Gong-Wu that can be used to enter" Omi explained. "The Yin yoyo and the Yang yoyo. If you exit with only one, your good is locked away and trapped within the realm and you become entirely evil. I know, I've been there and done it. Only if both yoyos are together when you leave can you remain normal".

"You don't think there could be a way to travel between them, do you?" Vicky asked.

"No, there is no other way out, only by possessing at least one of the yoyos. It's an unpredictable place, but I know that much" Omi sighed.

"So the Yin-Yang world is out of the question. The Shadow's Realm's locked. The Millennium Items are with us, there's no other way!" Vicky called. "Bakura can't come back".

"But he will" Yami mumbled.

"You mean you can feel him planning it?" Yugi asked.

"Yes. I don't know how he'll pull it off, but he's finding a way" Yami muttered.

"This isn't good, if he can find a way out, even when its permanently locked, he can get out anytime, it'll never end!" Yugi moaned.

"Then this time, we'll have to finish him off once and for all...well, once and for all?" Omi called.

Vicky watched the boys talk about the cause of the mental collapse of the group, their holidays controlled by the thought of fighting Bakura, when and where, still unknown. She sighed and turned out to the window, Seto was making his way back.

"Guys, Seto's coming" she called.

Omi then opened the door, allowing Seto to enter, the former CEO walked past and slumped into the second armchair opposite Grandpa and sighed.

"Did you try and reason with Kaiba?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah. Who knew I was such an obnoxious sod?" Seto growled.

"Well, I best not say but-" Yugi started.

"I know, Wheeler" Seto sighed. "And maybe the rest of you".

"Not me or Yami" Yugi replied. "I heard Yami after beating you in Battle City, he said you were just angry, he considered you a friend".

"Really?" Kaiba asked.

"Yeah. You helped us through the hardest times and were there most of the times we needed you. And you always found time to insult us" Vicky mumbled.

"I hate myself" Seto sighed.

"It'll be OK" Yugi insisted. "We'll beat Bakura and your world will be restored to what it really should be".

Yami looked at Seto with a smile, the same sort of thing had come out of his mouth on the first night that Seto was in the present day world. Seto smiled back at the Pharaoh before looking back to Yugi.

"Thank you Yugi. Don't mind my present day self, I was always jealous. You were once some little shrimp who everyone picked on. Then you got such great friends after solving the Millennium Puzzle. I didn't have friends, people were afraid of me when I became the President of KaibaCorp and Gozaburo disappeared. I hadn't had the best start in life and since fear was all that kept friends from getting close, I ended up hating the world".

"It's OK, Seto. I understand" Yugi whispered. "I was feeling angry and lonely myself before I solved the Millennium Puzzle, Tea was my only friend and well, life still didn't feel worth living, right?"

"Right" Seto replied.

"You felt that strongly?" Vicky asked.

Yami made no sound, he appeared to be in another trance, but a conscious on this time around, having the urge to stop Yugi before he dug too deep, he decided to listen. Having had the impression that he had brought misery to Yugi's life, he now found himself listening to Yugi pour his heart out about the even worst past before the Pharaoh's arrival.  
**

* * *

**

**Next morning...**  
Seto, Yugi, Joey, Bakura and Duke made their way towards KaibaCorp, ready to face Kaiba again. Back at the Game Shop, Grandpa had once again closed the shop. Omi, Kimiko, Raimundo and Clay worked on their Wudai skills whilst Yami, Serenity, Tristan, Tea, Destiny and Vicky worked on their own things. Contacting the American superheroes, checking the Millennium Items or sorting out their own decks, Tea then remembered something from before Yami's existence was even known.

"Hey, Tristan. Remember Hanasaki **[1**?" she asked.

"I think so, wasn't he the one whose family was hooked on that 'Zompire' stuff?" Tristan replied.

"Exactly, he loves American superheroes! He'll know how to find a way to contact the Power Rangers. I mean, they're as close you're gonna get to real-life American superheroes!" Tea exclaimed.

"Awesome. Destiny, let's ask Hanasaki" Tristan commanded.

"OK, see you later guys" Destiny called.

The two then rushed out of the building, heading out to the opposite direction of KaibaCorp. Meanwhile, the posse of boys facing Kaiba, made their way to KaibaCorp's base. Seto led the way, providing a message that they too were his guest as Yami had been only days ago. All remained quiet, fearing that the depressed and angry Seto Kaiba was the one leading the gang through once again, for fear of losing their job. Seto then led the group into the elevator and deja-vu began to take hold, feeling exact same frustration yet ability to restrain it as he had before. As the doors opened, they made their way towards Kaiba's office once again, Yugi stood before the group, placing his hand on the handle felt the same sensation, a voice simply whispered in his head, Yami's voice, was it?

_"I'm sorry, Yami"_

Yugi cringed slightly and released the door handle, why was it that both he and Yami touched it, a flash of the future was revealed to them? Yugi then exhaled, trying not to draw attention to his withdrawal and then pulled the door open before anything else was shown to him to mentally knock him around.

"Kaiba!" he called.

He entered the office, no-one was there, Yugi growled, suspecting that due to the vast amount of times someone from the group had arrived, the CEO had up and disappeared. The group walked in further, looking at the large empty room. Yugi raced to Kaiba's desk, a phone number was left on the desk, Yugi then picked up the phone and dialled the number, as the phone rang he began to wonder why it was there and Kaiba was not. No name was on the scrap of paper.

"Hello" Kaiba's voice growled.

"Kaiba!" Yugi called.

"Not again, what is it with you and playing make believe?" Kaiba asked. "Just give it up!"

"It's not make believe, where are you?" Yugi snapped.

"Mokuba's ill, I'm at home trying to take care of him" Kaiba explained. "But if this keeps up, he won't get much rest. The number was for Roland to call me on!" While Yugi argued with Kaiba, the receptionist appeared in the corridor, Seto pushed the others into the office and closed the door.

"Mr Kaiba, I saw you bringing Yugi Muto and his friends. Is Mokuba feeling better? I have some paperwork come in that need your signature" she blathered.

"No! Please, they only came to help me gather a couple of bits that Mokuba asked for" Seto lied.

"Oh, OK" she sighed. "I'll make sure that it's ready for when you need it, sir".

She then left, Seto slipped into the office to see the others yelling at Kaiba over the phone, he sighed. Getting the present day Kaiba on side was not going to be easy.

* * *

**[1** Hanasaki appeared only in the Shadow Games era before Duellist Kingdom, his entire family obsessed with the American 'Zompire' comics. He became Yugi's friend and disappeared after Death-T (Kaiba's Theme Park of Death). 


	15. One Step Away

**Chapter 14-One Step Away**  
Destiny and Tristan watched as Hanasaki logged onto his Power Rangers fan website, entering his name quickly. He then brought up an e-mail address, he turned to them.

"It says here that Tommy Oliver has been beginning studies, it has his e-mail address here" Hanasaki explained.

"Awright!" Tristan called.

"That's it Hanasaki!" Destiny called.

The screen was then printed, giving the pair their needed e-mail address, Destiny then began to text it to Tea. Once the text was sent they thanked Hanasaki and left, racing back happily towards the Game Shop.

"I wonder how the rest of the guys are doing at KaibaCorp" Destiny panted.

"Probably holding Joey back from wringing his neck" Tristan laughed.

* * *

**At the Turtle Game Shop...**  
Tea received Destiny's text, Serenity then headed downstairs to tell the monks, they were one step closer to halting Bakura's world domination plan. Tea, Vicky and Yami then worked on the e-mail to Tommy, excited about their closeness. Serenity jumped out the back door, the monks stopped what they were doing.

"Hey guys!" she called. "They've got an e-mail address, we've got the three sides now, we just need to get Kaiba to help us".

"All right!" Raimundo cheered.

"That's how you do it!" Kimiko added.

"Yes, but I heard about the present day Seto Kaiba from the future day Seto Kaiba" Omi mumbled.

"Don't you just mean the future Seto Kaiba, not future day" Kimiko corrected.

"If he's as stubborn as they say then he'd be harder to push then a mule after breakfast" **[1 **Clay summarized.

"OK?" Serenity moaned.

"Don't worry about it Serenity" Dojo stated. "That's just Clay-talk. This time is 'if he's stubborn, it's gonna be hard to get him on side".

"Why didn't he just as that?" Serenity asked.

"Best not to ask questions, it once broke out in a fight between these guys" Dojo recalled.

Serenity then just back away and withdrew into the house, nervous of any outbreak of insults of argumentative comments. As she arrived back upstairs, the e-mail was just being sent on its way; Yami, Tea and Vicky appeared proud, the e-mail was meant to enlist the reason for contacting him from where they lived. Serenity entered with a smile, she knew that they appeared to have done well, plus Destiny and Tristan were due back soon.

"How are the others downstairs?" Tea asked.

"They're OK, but that Clay uses everyday Texas life to describe how he feels about it all, it's kinda weird" Serenity stated.

"Any sign of Yugi, Seto and the others?" Yami asked.

"Nothing, I checked just before coming back up, but there was no sign of anyone coming this way" Serenity replied.

"That's strange, I thought that they'd be back by now. Unless they're trying extra hard to get through to him" Vicky sighed. "And Grandpa's supposed to be back in a minute".

"If they're not back by lunch, we'll have to go over to KaibaCorp and find out what's taking so long" Yami ordered.

"I am starting to get worried" Vicky mumbled.

* * *

**At KaibaCorp...**  
With time limited, the boys within Kaiba's office attempted everything they could; between them, Yugi, Joey, Bakura and Duke had all failed; threats, pleas, begs, nothing had worked into changing the CEO's minds. Seto then remembered something of vital importance, something that would not only force him to help, but want him to help.

_"Now if you don't mind, Yugi, I have a brother to take care of!"_ Kaiba growled.

"We tried" Yugi sighed.

"Wait!" Seto called. "Mokuba!"

_"What about Mokuba?"_ Kaiba asked.

"When we were fighting, they used Mokuba as a hostage, to stop us from fighting, to give up!" Seto exclaimed. "If you don't help us, they'll use your little brother against you like they did mine. Mokuba's vulnerable enough, without being ill. If you help us, he'll be getting the proper protection he needs so that won't happen again!"

A moment's silence, Seto knew that the love for Mokuba had to be stronger than any fake believe in mid games. That and his company was a burial ground for those lost, Kaiba would never let it happen if he knew.

_"Fine"_ Kaiba sighed. _"But this is for Mokuba and for KaibaCorp!"_

"Yes!" Yugi, Joey, Duke and Bakura cheered.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much you have saved. Not just Mokuba, but you've saved KaibaCorp too, and the world" Seto thanked.

_"Whatever"_ Kaiba mumbled.

There was an immediate hang-up, Kaiba may not have seemed to thrilled to be working alongside, but due to experience, Seto knew he was ready and willing. Already, Yugi was calling home.

"Yami, we've got Kaiba!" Yugi called. "Yeah, Seto used Mokuba's hostage story and that they used KaibaCorp as a burial ground for us!"

"Ew" Joey moaned.

"Yeah, we'll be home soon!" Yugi added.

Putting the phone away, he turned to the much taller boys before him.

"Yami says they've e-mailed one of the leading Power Ranger, a green one" Yugi announced. "It'll be around late last night there, so we'll get a reply later or tomorrow. Destiny, Grandpa and Tristan have just got back as well".

"Come on then, let's get back!" Joey called.

The group then raced out of the office and headed towards the Game Shop, exhilarated by the progress made in just a few days.

* * *

At the Game Shop, the group watched as the Xiaolin monks faced each other, facing one another with a single favourite Shen Gong-Wu. Omi sat on the sidelines holding his Orb of Tornami and Raimundo with his Sword of the Storm while Kimiko and her Mantis Flip Coin faced Clay with his Fist of Tebigan. Inside of the house, Grandpa and Yami talked in the kitchen, Yami leaned against the worktops that surrounded the room.

"Yami, are you sure you're OK?" Grandpa asked.

"I'll be fine. I was thinking about what Yugi said to me last night" Yami sighed.

"What is it?" Grandpa asked.

"It's sort of between myself and Yugi. Something I might have to do to stop Bakura" Yami replied.

"You're not going away after all are you?!" Grandpa called.

"No. Nothing like that. It's just..." Yami stammered. "I might have to travel into the Shadow Realm and face him there alone".

"But if he's using the Shadow Realm to power himself up, he'll be unstoppable. You could be killed!" Grandpa protested.

"It's a risk I'll just have to take. I'm sorry, but it could be the only way. I'll have the Millennium Items to protect me and if worst comes to worst, I can always close it with the Millennium Puzzle again" Yami sighed.

"But-" Grandpa exhaled.

Yami turned and walked away, knowing he had saddened Yugi's grandfather, he could no longer stand there alone with him in case of further offence. Grandpa only watched as the Pharaoh left the room and headed towards the stairs. Moments later, commotion outside drew the elderly man out along with them, the others were in view, heading towards the Game Shop, Yugi raced ahead. Noticing his Grandpa, Yugi dove into the arms of him, holding himself close. As the others arrived, Yugi released Grandpa and looked around.

"Hey, where's Yami gone?" Yugi asked.

"I think he went to check if that boy you were talking about sent an e-mail back" Grandpa lied.

"But he knows that the time zones mean that the guys in America would be sleeping" Yugi called.

The smaller teen raced ahead, Serenity then moved beside Joey, proud of her older brother. Yugi raced into the house and up the stairs, heading towards the bedroom that he and Yami had shared for the last few days. He noticed the door shut and pushed it open. Inside, he noticed Yami standing with his back to the entrance, holding the Millennium Puzzle and the Millennium Ring,

"Yami!" Yugi yelled.

Yami turned, shocked that Yugi had arrived, the Pharaoh then hid the Millennium Ring behind his back, despite the fact that Yugi had seen it.

"Why are you holding the Millennium Ring?" Yugi asked. "You weren't going to go now, were you?"

"Yugi" Yami sighed. "I've caused too much trouble. Just let me deal with Bakura, if I don't survive then you can go back to being normal".

"I won't let you go. I'll follow you!" Yugi snapped.

"But Yugi!" Yami called.

"No!" Yugi cried, grabbing Yami's right arm. "Please, just wait until we get a reply from the others, just so we can all get together and come up with a plan. We couldn't do without you before!"

Yugi held onto Yami's right arm tightly, Yami stared at it and to the face of his other half, tears filling the large eyes, knowing he couldn't destroy him, Yami simply dropped the Millennium Ring.

* * *

**[1 **Just a really bad attempt at trying to create a saying for Clay, its been a while since I've watched either Xiaolin Showdown or Power Rangers so this is all from memory and I couldn't think of something that Clay could've said in that situation.


End file.
